Environment

Net Zero

September 2023

I stood on a manifesto which promised to reach net zero by 2050 with investment in clean energy solutions and green infrastructure to reduce carbon emissions and pollution. I am keen that the Government delivers on that promise made to the British people, just like it did with Brexit.

The Government is committed to net zero by 2050 and the agreements the UK has made internationally but I am supportive of Rishi Sunak’s alterations to the policy. For too many years politicians in governments of all stripes have not been honest about costs and trade-offs. Instead, they have taken the easy way out, saying we can have it all. This realism does not mean losing our ambition or abandoning our commitments. Far from it. I am proud that Britain is leading the world on climate change. Our politics must again put the long-term interests of our country before the short-term political needs of the moment, changing the way we do politics.

The UK has set the most ambitious target to reduce carbon emissions by 68 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels – and is the only major economy to have set a target of 77 per cent for 2035. This follows progress over the past decades to cut emissions faster than any other G7 country, with the UK having already slashed emissions by 48 per cent, compared to 41 per cent in Germany, 23 per cent in France and no change at all in the United States. It is this over-delivery on reducing emissions that provides the space to take a more pragmatic, proportionate, and realistic approach to reaching net zero.

These revised plans will ease the burden on working people, as the Government has made it clear that the plans to meet net zero will only succeed if public support is maintained. This includes: easing the transition to electric vehicles from 2030 to 2035, in line with other similar countries; giving families far more time to transition to heat pumps while significantly increasing grants to upgrade boilers; scrapping onerous energy efficiency requirements and not forcing people to make alterations.

Oil and Gas Licensing

August 2023

I have taken the issue of climate change very seriously for several decades, including when I was environment editor of the Observer and the Times, and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment. It is the biggest challenge that humankind faces. I am proud that the UK was the first major country to set a statutory target to reach net zero emissions by 2050, and that we have made great progress to this. Our per capita carbon dioxide emissions have dropped further than any other major industrial country, and are now over 70% lower than the peak year of 1971. We now emit less carbon dioxide per capita than we did 150 years ago. But clearly there is much more to do and lots of challenges ahead. There is no room for complacency.

We have to get to net zero in a way that ensures energy security and causes the least possible disruption to people’s way of life and cost of living. This is important as we will only get to net zero if we take voters with us.

As we have seen over the last year, global energy supplies have been disrupted and weaponised by the likes of Putin, causing household bills to soar and economic growth to slow around the world.  It is therefore essential that the UK has energy independence and security, and the Government is determined to safeguard our energy supply. As such, this Government is not only backing our oil and gas sector, but also investing in renewable energy and carbon capture.

The UK, like most major economies, is still dependent on oil and gas and will be for decades to come. We get 75 per cent of our energy from oil and gas, and according to the Committee on Climate Change, oil and gas will still provide more than half of our energy needs in 2035, and 24 per cent of our energy needs even in a net zero 2050.

The Government remains firmly committed to its net zero target. However, oil and gas will be required in the transition to net zero. Simply turning off the taps would mean we would have to import oil and gas, leaving us susceptible to global circumstances. Further, importing oil and gas harm our ambition to reach net zero. According to the North Sea Transition Authority, imported gas has a carbon footprint which is three times that of domestically produced gas.

The Government is therefore boosting our energy security by committing to hundreds of new oil and gas field licences in the North Sea, making sure we are not reliant on expensive, more polluting, foreign imports. It is also investing in wind power, solar power, nuclear power, and Carbon Capture and Storage, delivering on our net zero ambitions while creating 25,000 jobs and driving £10 billion of investment.

This will cut bills, cut emissions, and cut our dependence on foreign imports, safeguarding our long-term energy security, supporting families with the cost of living, and delivering on the Prime Minister’s pledge to grow the economy.

Canals

July 2023

Canals are an fascinating part of our industrial heritage, and form an important part of the Government’s work in reintroducing biodiversity in nature. In addition to their history, they also provide the backdrop to the health and well-being routines of many. I understand that around 800 million visits are made to our canals every year, demonstrating their importance in the UK. I mayself went canal boating with friends a few years ago.

The Canal & River Trust is responsible for 2,000 miles of waterways and associated historic industrial infrastructure in England and Wales. It maintains the navigability and safety of its waterways including reservoirs and embankments. The Government recognises that the organisation has an important role to play in contributing to the Environmental Improvement Plan.

To date, the Canal & River Trust has received £550 million of Government funding. While there is no obligation to fund it beyond 2027, I am aware that, subject to certain conditions, the Government will offer a new long-term funding package of over £400 million.

Since first created in 2012 as a private charity independent of the Government, Ministers have been clear that the Canal & River Trust should become progressively more self-sufficient financially. A Memorandum of Understanding between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Canal & River Trust signed in June 2012 included the objective to “reduce dependence on Government Grant and to foster increasing self-sufficiency, by providing access to new charitable income streams and stimulating new efficiencies.” I am aware that the new funding deal for 2027 to 2037 continues that objective.

Finally, Defra has been in discussions with the charity for some time, offering support on how it can increase income from other sources alongside continued Government funding. Certainly, my ministerial colleagues and I look forward to continued enjoyment of our local waterways.

Emissions Trading Scheme

June 2023

My ministerial colleagues and I take the threat of climate change incredibly seriously. The Government is working hard domestically and internationally to increase climate ambition. The UK was the first major economy to set a legally binding net zero target to achieve net zero by 2050 and, since then the Government has set interim targets of a 68 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030 and a 78 per cent reduction in emissions by 2035, both compared to 1990 levels. The increased commitments to reducing emissions were announced during COP26 as these will help to keep the 1.5 degree target alive.

The UK's ETS  industrial participants, such as steel sector businesses, are provided with free allocations of emissions. This reduces exposure to carbon prices and mitigates the risk of carbon leakage. In 2021, they were worth over £2 billion. Free allocations are guaranteed at current levels until 2026. The review into free allocation policy will continue into 2023 and will include consulting on changes to the calculations of free allocations post-2026. The Government is committed to consulting on carbon leakage mitigations this spring including measures such as product standards, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and policies to grow the market for low emissions industrial products.

The UK ETS Authority is in the process of reviewing the free allocation policy and consulted last year on elements of this. The Government will publish the response in due course. The Government will also be consulting later this year on potential changes to the methodology for distributing free allocations and ways to target those most at risk of carbon leakage.

Energy Charter Treaty

June 2023

Britain has long advocated modernisation of this treaty, recognising the urgent need to address climate change and align the treaty with modern energy priorities, international treaty practice and climate commitments. In its unmodernised form, the treaty is focused on trade and investment in fossil fuels. Some major renewable energy technologies are outside its scope. Ministers wanted to bring the treaty into line with modern energy priorities, international treaty practice and international commitments on climate change. Unfortunately, the European Union and its member states were unable to endorse the adoption of modernisation at the energy charter conference.

I understand that since the adoption of modernisation was postponed at the Energy Charter Conference in November 2022, my colleagues have been closing monitoring developments on treaty modernisation, including the positions of contracting parties such as the EU. This is an evolving situation and it is right that Ministers assess it carefully in advance of further international talks. It is also important that the views of civil society, business and Parliament are used to inform an appropriate response.

I am informed that the Government holds regular meetings with members of the treaty modernisation group with future meetings due in the summer and the annual Energy Charter Conference due in late 2023. I am told Parliament will be kept informed of relevant developments regarding the UK’s position.

Bottom Trawling in UK Waters

April 2023

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has launched a consultation on proposed management measures for fishing within English waters, with the aim of reducing negative impacts on important marine biodiversity. This consultation is an important step in securing protection for seabirds, as well as delivering the commitment in the Environment Improvement Plan to halt the decline of nature and allow wildlife to thrive. I understand that this consultation is open until 30 May and I would encourage you to express your views through this consultation. I look forward to reading the Government’s response to this consultation in due course, once it has closed.

More broadly, the Government has built a comprehensive network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), covering 40 per cent of English waters. Ministers are now focusing on making sure they are properly protected. Nearly 60 per cent of the 178 English MPAs are already protected from damaging fishing activity, including byelaws this year in the first four offshore sites, which ban bottom towed gear over sensitive habitats. The Government is aiming to have all MPAs in English waters protected from damaging fishing activity by 2024. Only fishing activities which could damage the protected features of an MPA require management, such as trawling on the seabed.

Biodiversity

April 2023

I have long been committed to the battle against climate change, and supportive of this Government’s statutory target of reaching net zero by 2050. In addition, ambitious targets such as a 68 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, and a 78 per cent reduction in emissions by 2035, also compared to 1990 levels, have been enshrined in law.  

I am proud that the UK has reduced its per capita CO2 emissions more than any other industrialised country since the benchmark year of 1990, and our per capita emissions are lower now than they were 150 years ago, lower than Germany and Denmark, and one third the level of the US, Australia and Canada.

In October 2021, the Government published the Net Zero Strategy, building on the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. To oversee progress on achieving net zero, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) provides expert advice to the Government on climate change mitigation and adaptation. I understand that the UK’s 2050 net-zero target was considered, in line with advice from the CCC, to be the earliest feasible date for achieving net-zero carbon emissions.

Further, through the Environment Act 2021, the Government has set four legally binding targets for biodiversity in England, including halting the decline in species abundance by 2030, as well as reversing species decline, reducing the risk of species extinction, and restoring or creating more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitats by 2042. The Government set out its plan to deliver on these ambitious targets through the Environmental Improvement Plan, which includes short-term interim targets in addition to those long-term targets. This overall suite of targets will ensure that the policies, actions and commitments in the plan are collectively driving progress towards the goal of leaving the environment in a better place than we found it.

Finally, the UK played a leading role at the UN biodiversity summit, COP15, in December 2022. The agreement made includes a global commitment to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and also protect 30 per cent of land and oceans by 2030. This builds on the actions agreed during the UK’s own COP and G7 presidencies, including securing the Leaders Pledge for Nature last year which commits world leaders to taking action to drive sustainable food production, end the illegal wildlife trade and tackle climate change. 

Wood Burning Power Stations

April 2023

I would like to assure you that the Government continues to recognise climate change as one of the most serious long-term threats that this country and the world face. Sustainable, low carbon bioenergy has helped the UK move to a low-carbon energy mix, increase our energy security and keep costs down for consumers. I understand that the Government sees the use of biomass as a transitional technology and has announced that support for all coal to biomass conversions will end in 2027.

The UK only supports biomass for electricity generation which complies with strict sustainability criteria, and I understand that generating stations utilising biomass only receive subsidies in respect of compliant biomass. These criteria take into account social, economic and environmental issues including protecting biodiversity and ecosystems, land use rights, sustainable harvesting and regeneration rates. The criteria also ensure that the carbon stock of the forest from which the pellets are derived is not decreased by requiring that biomass fuels are derived from forest waste wood and residues and that the forest owner adheres to relevant legal requirements to protect biodiversity and the environment.

Therefore, only biomass from sustainable sources should be used in the UK. Under biomass sustainability criteria, bioenergy suppliers must report on the sustainability of their operations if they want to claim subsidy support under the Renewables Obligation, Contracts for Difference (CfD), or the Renewable Heat Incentive. These criteria are amongst the toughest in the world and any generators that do not comply lose this financial support. This also includes a minimum 60 per cent lifecycle greenhouse gas saving and for the biomass to be from a sustainable source. The Government consulted on the inclusion of biomass and set out its intention to remove biomass conversion technologies from the CfD scheme. The Government's response to the consultation confirmed that the Government plans to exclude new coal-to-biomass conversions from future CfD allocation rounds. 

I understand a new cross-government Biomass Strategy, which is to be published before the new year will look at how biomass should be sourced and used across the economy to best contribute to the UK's net zero target. This will set out the Government’s view on the role of biomass in the energy sector and provide further clarity to the market. The fourth round of the CfD scheme has now closed as of July with £285 million of yearly funding for low-carbon technology which aims to secure 12GW of electricity capacity.

The UK has already made excellent progress and is setting an example to the rest of the world. Indeed, between 1990 and 2019 the UK economy has grown by nearly 80 per cent while cutting emissions by 45 per cent.

HVO Fuel

April 2023

The Government recognises that biofuels such as hydrotreated vegetable oil biodiesel may play a role in future off-gas-grid decarbonisation, particularly for properties that are not suitable for a heat pump. Certainly, it would seem that the technology to convert existing boilers to HVO fuel would seem straightforward and affordable.

The benefits, as you have noted, seem clear. It is therefore, on the face of it, a perfectly reasonable proposal with few drawbacks. However, further evidence is needed to consider what role these biofuels could play and to develop the policy framework which would support such a role.

That is why I welcome that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy published a Call for Evidence to inform the development of the Biomass Strategy. The feedback of this is currently being analysed. The Biomass Strategy will review the amount of sustainable biomass available to the UK, including liquid biofuels, and how this could be best used across the economy to achieve the UK's net zero target.

It will also assess the UK’s current biomass sustainability standards, which are some of the most stringent in the world, to see where and how improvements can be made.

Climate and Ecology Bill

April 2023

I would like to assure you that tackling climate change is a top priority for the Government and Ministers are committed to leaving the environment in a better state than they found it.

While I have noted your comments about the Ecology Bill, and appreciate your strength of feeling about the Bill and the issues it covers, the UK already has a world-leading emissions reduction framework in place. The Climate Change Act 2008 made the UK the first country to introduce a legally binding, long-term emissions reduction target.

As a former environment editor of the Observer and the Times, and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment, I have long been committed to the battle against climate change, and supportive of this Government’s statutory target of reaching net zero by 2050. In addition, ambitious targets such as a 68 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, and a 78 per cent reduction in emissions by 2035, also compared to 1990 levels, have been enshrined in law.  

Climate Change and the Cumbrian Mine

April 2023

As former environment editor of the Observer and the Times, and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment, I have long been committed to the battle against climate change, and supportive of this Government’s statutory target of reaching net zero by 2050. In addition, ambitious targets such as a 68 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, and a 78 per cent reduction in emissions by 2035, also compared to 1990 levels, have been enshrined in law.  

Furthermore, the Ten Point Plan will mobilise £12 billion of Government investment and support up to 250,000 green jobs, creating a green industrial revolution. The new Energy Security Strategy builds on the Ten Point Plan, and, together with the Net Zero Strategy, is driving an unprecedented £100 billion of private sector investment into new British industries including Offshore Wind and supporting 480,000 new clean jobs by the end of the decade.

I would like to stress that the coking coal extracted from the Cumbria mine will not be used for energy, but for making steel. It is part of a chemical process, and there is no technical way at present to use solar power to make steel, however much solar power you have. The Government remains firmly committed to its goal of eliminating unabated coal-power generation by 2024. Coal’s share of the UK’s energy supply has already fallen from 40 per cent in 2012 to 1.8 per cent in 2020. Furthermore, there is a commitment to ensuring the proposed development is net zero over its whole lifetime, which would make it the only net zero metallurgical coking coal mine in the world.

Having looked over the inspector’s report, I am assured that the mine would not cause any unacceptable impacts on ecology or result in a net loss of biodiversity. The proposed development itself would have an overall neutral effect on climate change, taking into account all the mitigation. 

The inspector’s report highlights that all the scenarios and forecasts for the future use of coking coal which were put before the inquiry demonstrated a continued demand for coking coal for a number of decades to come. Coking coal also has a vital role to play in the steel industry’s transition to climate neutrality, as noted by international partners such as the European Commission.

Sewage Discharge

April 2023

Sewage discharge is disgusting. The Draft Environmental Targets (Water) (England) Regulations will take active steps to reduce sewage discharge. I voted for the bill because I want to tackle this appalling problem. I have also argued that shareholders should not receive dividends and executives should not receive bonuses if water companies have discharged sewage into waterways.

Sewage overflows are a result of our Victorian infrastructure across the UK, and this is the first Government to take steps to tackle them.  The Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan will require water companies to deliver their largest ever environmental infrastructure investment - £56 billion over 25 years.  Since this requires changing our Victorian infrastructure across the entire country, it is not physically possible to stop it all instantly. 

Water companies will be required to take measures such as increasing the capacity of their networks and treating sewage before it is discharged, while massively reducing all discharges. In September 2022, the then Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs asked water company bosses to write to him with their plans to accelerate investment in infrastructure. Water companies are investing £3.1 billion to deliver the 800 storm overflow improvements across England by 2025. I am assured that Ministers are working with water companies to accelerate these projects.  

Finally, the plan stipulates that water companies should publish discharge information in near real time as well as committing to tackling the root causes of the issue by improving surface water drainage. The plan also sets out Ministers’ wider expectations for the water industry, to ensure their infrastructure keeps pace with increasing external pressures, such as urban growth and climate change and to ensure our water supplies remain clean and secure for the future.  

Onshore Wind Farms

April 2023

I fully agree that we need to transition quickly to renewable energy sources and that onshore wind has potential to be a huge source of renewable energy in the United Kingdom.

I welcome the Government's plans to introduce changes to the planning system in England whereby planning permission for onshore wind would depend upon a project commanding local support and being able to satisfactorily address any impacts identified by the local community. The Government consulted on these changes and I understand that responses received to the consultation are being analysed. I look forward to reading the Government's response in due course. 

Separately, the Government has said that it will seek views on developing local partnerships for supportive communities to enable those who would like to host new onshore wind to benefit, for example through lower energy bills. 

Carbon Allowance System

April 2023

There are of course incremental steps we can take to address our own carbon footprints. Everyday choices around our modes of travel, the steps we take, our energy suppliers and which products we can buy can all impact upon our own carbon footprint.

That being said, I do not think a carbon allowance system is the right approach to addressing the issue of climate change. It would be fundamentally impossible to enforce. I also believe that it would be too rigid a framework for the realities of individual lives.

Climate change is not a problem that will go away any time soon. For that reason, our solutions have to be long term solutions. Solutions that are deemed too restrictive or too prescriptive will push people toward politicians that are sceptical or even in denial about climate change. I do not believe that a plan that restricts people’s carbon usage by legislation will be sustainable in a democracy.

Home Insulation

April 2023

Ministers are clear that one of the principal ways in which we can tackle fuel poverty in the long-term is to improve the energy efficiency of homes. To this end, I am glad that the Government is extending the VAT relief available for the installation of energy saving materials (ESMs). Moreover, this relief is also being increased further by introducing a time-limited zero rate for the installation of ESMs. A typical family having roof top solar panels installed will save more than £1,000 in total on installation, and then £300 annually on their energy bills. Further, the Government has set out its aspiration for as many homes as possible to be Energy Performance Certificate Band C by 2035, and to reach this standard by 2030 for fuel-poor homes.

Struggling households are eligible for insulation measures, including solid wall insulation, through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme. Homeowners and those in privately rented homes who are on specific benefits may also be eligible for support towards heating improvements, including oil-fired boiler replacements, through ECO Affordable Warmth. In addition, the Government is boosting funding for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (investing a further £800 million over 2022/23 to 2024/25) and Home Upgrade Grant (investing a further £950 million over 2022/23 to 2024/25), which aim to improve the energy performance of low-income households’ homes, support low-carbon heat installations, help to reduce fuel poverty and build the green retrofitting sector to benefit all homeowners.

The Government is expanding this scheme which will focus on households which are low income and vulnerable, or at risk of fuel poverty, living in inefficient Energy Performance Certificate Band D-G homes, with a greater focus on insulation, making greater improvements to the least energy efficient homes.

Protection for Local Waterways

April 2023

The Draft Environmental Targets (Water) (England) Regulations will take active steps to reduce sewage discharge. The Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan requires water companies to deliver their largest ever environmental infrastructure investment - £56 billion over 25 years.  Water companies will be required to take measures such as increasing the capacity of their networks and treating sewage before it is discharged, while massively reducing all discharges. In September 2022, the then Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs asked water company bosses to write to him with their plans to accelerate investment in infrastructure. Water companies are investing £3.1 billion to deliver the 800 storm overflow improvements across England by 2025.

I am assured that Ministers are working with water companies to accelerate these projects. Ministers plan to raise the Environment Agency’s maximum civil fine for individual breaches of the rules. Fines for water companies who seriously breach rules will increase 1,000-fold, from £250,000 to up to £250 million. The Environment Agency has also instructed water companies to install new flow monitors on more than 2,000 wastewater treatment works. 

By 2035, water companies will have to improve all storm overflows discharging into or near every designated bathing water and improve 75 per cent of overflows discharging to high priority nature sites. By 2050, this will apply to all remaining storm overflows covered by our targets, regardless of location. Ministers will review the plan in 2027 to consider further improvements, taking account of innovation and efficiencies. The plan stipulates that water companies should publish discharge information in near real time as well as committing to tackling the root causes of the issue by improving surface water drainage. The plan also sets out Ministers’ wider expectations for the water industry, to ensure their infrastructure keeps pace with increasing external pressures, such as urban growth and climate change and to ensure our water supplies remain clean and secure for the future. 

I have been involved with the making of these laws, but would still like the Government to go further and faster, and I understand those who feel the progress is too slow. I have been pushing for the water company bosses to be banned from getting bonuses or paying dividends to shareholders if they are fined for illegally discharging sewage.

Locally, I am working to reduce abstraction from our local aquifer and to increase water supply to ensure the future of our chalk streams. The source of our chalkstreams is the aquifer that is responsible for 97% for our local water supply. We are already having to pump additional water into our chalk streams to maintain them. I am therefore opposed to new developments until we have an effective solution in place for our water shortages. I have over the past three years worked with the national government, water campaign groups, the water regulator Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the water industry to develop plans to deliver more water to South Cambs, through the building of reservoirs and pipelines from surrounding areas with excess water. There is now agreement on these plans, which provide a long term solution to our water shortages, but they will take some years to implement.

Emissions Trading Scheme

April 2023

My ministerial colleagues and I take the threat of climate change incredibly seriously. The Government is working hard domestically and internationally to increase climate ambition. The UK was the first major economy to set a legally binding net zero target to achieve net zero by 2050 and, since then the Government has set interim targets of a 68 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030 and a 78 per cent reduction in emissions by 2035, both compared to 1990 levels.

The increased commitments to reducing emissions were announced during COP26 as these will help to keep the 1.5 degree target alive. The UK’s ETS launched in January 2021, covering aviation, manufacturing and fossil fuel power generation, and is more ambitious than the EU scheme it replaced. It is the world’s first net zero carbon cap and trade market, and a crucial step towards achieving the UK’s target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The cap on emissions has initially been set at a level which is 5 per cent below the UK's notional share of the EU ETS cap. The UK ETS also allows the UK to encourage innovation in emerging decarbonisation technologies. The Government is committed to carbon pricing as a tool to drive decarbonisation and intends explore expanding the UK ETS to other sectors, including aligning the total cap on emissions with net zero by no later than January 2024. The UK's ETS industrial participants, such as steel sector businesses, are provided with free allocations of emissions. This reduces exposure to carbon prices and mitigates the risk of carbon leakage. In 2021, they were worth over £2 billion.

Free allocations are guaranteed at current levels until 2026. The review into free allocation policy will continue into 2023 and will include consulting on changes to the calculations of free allocations post-2026. The Government is committed to consulting on carbon leakage mitigations this spring including measures such as product standards, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and policies to grow the market for low emissions industrial products. More broadly, the UK’s ETS, alongside a wide range of taxes, including the Climate Change Levy and Carbon Price Support (CPS) rate, are designed to encourage businesses and consumers to make greener choices. Specifically, the ETS and CPS have helped clean up the UK’s electricity generation and will be key to achieving the total phase out of coal by October 2024 and meeting emissions targets.

Aggressive Protests

April 2023

As former environment editor of the Observer and the Times, and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment, I have long been committed to the battle against climate change, and supportive of this Government’s statutory target of reaching net zero by 2050. In addition, ambitious targets such as a 68 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, and a 78 per cent reduction in emissions by 2035, also compared to 1990 levels, have been enshrined in law.

That being said, holding that view does not give individuals the right to take the law into their own hands. You cannot have a legal system in a democracy where people are allowed to openly break the law if they have what are deemed by some the right motivations. There are lots of people with lots of very strongly held beliefs (for example around racism, transgender rights, child abuse), and they can’t all be allowed to break the law because they others approve of their motivations. If prosecutions were made on the basis of the perceived morality of one’s actions rather than the legality, then we would no longer be a country governed by the rule of law. There has to be one law for all in a democracy. People often raise the example of the Suffragettes, who also broke the law in pursuit of their political aims, but the fundamental difference there was that women did not then have the vote and so could not change anything via the ballot box, or forming a political party.

Rosebank

March 2023

As former environment editor of the Observer and the Times, and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment, I have long been committed to the battle against climate change, and supportive of this Government’s statutory target of reaching net zero by 2050. I am proud that the UK has reduced its per capita CO2 emissions more than any other industrialised country since the benchmark year of 1990, and our per capita emissions are lower now than they were 150 years ago, lower than Germany and Denmark, and one third the level of the US, Australia and Canada.

However, I do accept that the oil and gas industry has a role to play as we transition to net zero, and there will probably remain some legacy uses of their products even after. Neither the UN IPCC nor our own Committee on Climate Change require sudden stop in production of oil and gas.

While the offshore oil and gas sector is a major UK industrial success story, climate change represents an existential threat to the planet. Recognising this, the UK’s offshore oil and gas sector was amongst the first major industries to publicly back the Government’s net zero objectives. In 2019, the Oil and Gas Industry Association published its ‘Roadmap 2035: A Blueprint for Net Zero’, which highlighted the role the sector can play to help the UK achieve the energy transition that is vital to a fully decarbonised economy.

In recognition of the important role that oil and gas will play in our energy security and energy transition, an imminent licensing round for new North Sea oil and gas projects is expected to lead to over 100 new licences being awarded. It is important to note that producing gas in the UK has a lower carbon footprint than importing it from abroad and I am reassured that supporting the production of domestic oil and gas in the nearer term will be coupled with the accelerated deployment of wind, new nuclear, solar and hydrogen energy.

The North Sea Transition Deal builds on the UK’s global strength in offshore oil and gas production and seeks to maximise the advantages for the UK’s oil and gas sector from the global shift to clean growth. Through the Deal, the UK’s oil and gas sector and the Government will work together to deliver the skills, innovation and new infrastructure required to decarbonise North Sea oil and gas production as well as other carbon intensive industries.

This will support up to 40,000 direct and indirect supply chain jobs in decarbonising the UK’s Continental Shelf (UKCS) production and the CCUS and hydrogen sectors. The deal is expected to cut pollution by up to 60 million tonnes by 2030, including 15 million tonnes from oil and gas production on the UKCS, the equivalent of annual emissions from 90 per cent of the UK’s homes. In the year since the deal was agreed, there has been a reduction in carbon emissions from offshore oil and gas production, which have fallen by 11 per cent since 2018 - equivalent to taking around a million cars off the road for the year.

BP is already developing plans for the UK’s largest ‘blue’ hydrogen production facility on Teesside, which could produce up to 1GW of hydrogen, or 20 per cent of the UK’s hydrogen target, by 2030 and would capture and send for storage up to two million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The Government conducted a consultation on a new climate compatibility checkpoint for the oil and gas industry, specifically on its design. This comes after a commitment to introduce the checkpoint as part of the Deal. The checkpoint will be a new measure carried out before each future oil and gas licensing process to ensure any new licences are only awarded on the basis that they are aligned with the UK’s climate change commitments, including the UK’s target of reaching net zero by 2050. 

Following the consultation, the Government published a report detailing how the climate compatibility checkpoint will be designed. The checkpoint is being designed with three guiding principles. First, it will be evidence-based: the checkpoint must use either reliable data, or credible projections. Second, it will be transparent: the checkpoint structure should be clear and objective, and the sources of all data and projections should be publicly available and transparent. And finally, it will be simple: the checkpoint should be able to be described in a short document, and therefore give confidence to all stakeholders that a clear and methodical process is being followed.

Emissions Trading Scheme

February 2023

The UK’s ETS launched in January 2021, covering aviation, manufacturing and fossil fuel power generation, and is more ambitious than the EU scheme it replaced. It is the world’s first net zero carbon cap and trade market, and a crucial step towards achieving the UK’s target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The cap on emissions has initially been set at a level which is 5 per cent below the UK's notional share of the EU ETS cap. The UK ETS also allows the UK to encourage innovation in emerging decarbonisation technologies.

The Government is committed to carbon pricing as a tool to drive decarbonisation and intends explore expanding the UK ETS to other sectors, including aligning the total cap on emissions with net zero by no later than January 2024.

The UK's ETS industrial participants, such as steel sector businesses, are provided with free allocations of emissions. This reduces exposure to carbon prices and mitigates the risk of carbon leakage, where production just moves overseas to more polluting regimes. In 2021, they were worth over £2 billion. Free allocations are guaranteed at current levels until 2026. The review into free allocation policy will continue into 2023 and will include consulting on changes to the calculations of free allocations post-2026. The Government is committed to consulting on carbon leakage mitigations this spring including measures such as product standards, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and policies to grow the market for low emissions industrial products.

Plant Based Treaty

February 2023

As you will likely know, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has concluded that the world is warming faster than anticipated, the effects of which are being seen in every single region of our planet. Urgent action is undoubtedly needed to limit global warming and put nature on a path to recovery, and the Government is already taking decisive action to this end, being the first G7 country to legislate to achieve net zero by 2050. The UK has reduced its per capita carbon dioxide emissions more than any other G20 country since 1990, and our emissions are now lower than they were 150 years ago.

However, the UK's efforts will not be sufficient alone. That is why the Government has been calling for global ambition and action to reduce emissions across all sectors, including in agriculture, forestry and other land use, which is collectively responsible for roughly 23 per cent of global emissions. Recognising the need to reform the way we grow and consume food in order to tackle climate change, the UK seized the opportunities of our G7 and COP26 Presidencies to drive international action and commitments to this end.

For instance, in June 2021, the G7 Leaders committed to work to accelerate an inclusive global transition to sustainable and climate resilient agriculture, and at COP26, over 140 world leaders joined the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use (GLD). This committed them to “halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation”, and was backed by a financial package of $19.2 billion.

Nevertheless, as demand for food increases, further action on land use and environmental degradation is urgently needed. To this end, the Prime Minister has announced £65 million for the Nature, People and Climate Programme at COP27, which supports indigenous and local forest communities. This funding will drive forward agricultural innovations and measures to boost sustainable livelihoods, as well as support work to conserve and restore millions of hectares of forest.

It is for the reasons outlined here that I do not believe it necessary to sign the Plant Based Treaty at this time. While this may be disappointing to you, I hope I have reassured you that the Government recognises the need to accelerate the shift towards sustainable food systems and considerable work is ongoing to this end.

The Times 'Clean It Up' Campaign

February 2023

I am aware that the “Clean It Up” campaign rightly recognises the challenges faced by our water system from the impacts of pollution, climate change and urbanisation. It also highlights the improvements that have been made in recent years. This includes cleaner bathing water spots and legal targets for the ecological status of water bodies. The Government is clear that the amount of untreated sewage entering our waterways is unacceptable. In its recent Environmental Improvement Plan, the Government set out the steps being taken on improving the whole water system. The includes publishing the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan; hugely increasing the monitoring of discharges; setting strict new targets on water companies, as well as record levels of fines for water companies that break the law.

Sewage overflows are a Victorian infrastructure issue, and this is the first Government to take steps to tackle them.  The Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan will require water companies to deliver their largest ever environmental infrastructure investment - £56 billion over 25 years.  Water companies will be required to take measures such as increasing the capacity of their networks and treating sewage before it is discharged, while massively reducing all discharges. In September 2022, the then Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs asked water company bosses to write to him with their plans to accelerate investment in infrastructure. Water companies are investing £3.1 billion to deliver the 800 storm overflow improvements across England by 2025. I am assured that Ministers are working with water companies to accelerate these projects. 

Ministers plan to raise the Environment Agency’s maximum civil fine for individual breaches of the rules. Fines for water companies who seriously breach rules will increase 1,000-fold, from £250,000 to up to £250 million. The Environment Agency has also instructed water companies to install new flow monitors on more than 2,000 wastewater treatment works.  By 2035, water companies will have to improve all storm overflows discharging into or near every designated bathing water and improve 75 per cent of overflows discharging to high priority nature sites. By 2050, this will apply to all remaining storm overflows covered by our targets, regardless of location. Ministers will review the plan in 2027 to consider further improvements, taking account of innovation and efficiencies. 

Climate Education Bill

February 2023

The Department for Education’s Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy sets out new initiatives which include support for teaching about nature and climate change, the introduction of a Natural History GCSE, a National Education Nature Park, and the Climate Leaders Award. It also supports head teachers to take a whole school approach to climate change and help achieve net zero.

Teachers will be supported to deliver world-leading climate change education through a model science curriculum. The programme will encourage students to get involved in the natural world, by increasing biodiversity in the grounds of their educational setting, including small steps like setting up bird feeders. It will involve the launch of the virtual National Education Nature Park, which will enable children and young people to track their progress against other schools across the country, as well as increase their knowledge of different species. It will also provide free access to high quality curriculum resources, so teachers in all schools and subjects can choose those that will support teaching sustainability and climate change.

The Department for Education has also committed to the launch of The Climate Leaders Award which will recognise young people for their work to improve their environment, culminating in a national awards ceremony each year. I am aware that the award will be developed in conjunction with young people to ensure it supports them in making an impact in their community. Pupils will be able to progress through different levels of the award, including 'bronze', 'silver' and 'gold' levels. 

More broadly, the science GCSE gives pupils the opportunity to consider the evidence for additional anthropogenic causes of climate change. Furthermore, a new environmental science A Level was introduced in 2017 which enables young people to study topics that will enhance their understanding of climate change and how it can be addressed. 

The geography curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4 includes content designed to enable pupils to understand ways in which human and physical processes interact to influence and change the climate, as well as environments and landscapes. It also includes content on the change in climate from the Ice Age to the present day. GCSE Geography gives pupils an opportunity to consider the causes, consequences of and responses to extreme weather conditions and natural weather hazards. Furthermore, by September 2023, a T Level in Agriculture, Land Management and Production will be available. T Levels in Construction and Engineering skills are already running and are designed to train young people for careers in a range of careers that contribute to net zero.

As such I do not support the EDM in question, as I believe important and effective action is already being taken.

Air Quality

February 2023

Clearly air quality has improved dramatically over the last 100 years, and indeed the last 50 (when cars used to pump out lead in their exhaust), but clearly there is more that we should and must do. I am a big advocate of electric vehicles, which clearly will have a big impact on air quality.

I am aware that the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill recently completed its passage in the House of Lords and is now awaiting Second Reading in the House of Commons. While Ministers appreciate the Bill’s intentions, I am assured that the Government already has a comprehensive legal framework through which a wide range of actions are being taken to drive down pollutants and their damaging effects on people and the environment.

Through the Environment Act 2021, the Government is continuing to improve air quality with a target to have an annual mean concentration target for PM2.5 levels at 10 µg per m3 or below by 2040, as well as a target to reduce population exposure to PM2.5 by 35 per cent by 2040 (compared to 2018). I understand that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs believes that these levels cannot be achieved by 2030 but can by 2040.

Further, Ministers have placed a duty on local authorities to keep air pollution within legal limits and expect them to take action. The Government provided £883m of dedicated funding to help local authorities develop and implement local nitrogen dioxide air quality plans and support those affected by these plans. In addition, the Air Quality Grant helps councils to develop and implement measures to benefit schools, businesses and communities and reduce the impact of air pollution on people’s health.

Finally, through the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, the Government will challenge local authorities to improve air quality quicker by assessing their performance and use of existing powers, while supporting them with clear guidance, funding and tools. Ministers will facilitate the rollout of further Clean Air Zones by local councils in areas which are in breach of air quality statutory limits, with further zones and other non-clean air zone measures as required.

Sewage Discharge

January 2023

I must state that I completely understand the frustration that many have felt seeing the graphic shared by opposition parties. I have to state that it is a deliberate misrepresentation. I absolutely agree that sewage discharge is disgusting. It is disappointing that opposition parties have undertaken this approach. Such misrepresentations undermine public faith in all politicians. The Draft Environmental Targets (Water) (England) Regulations will take active steps to reduce sewage discharge. I voted for the bill because I want to tackle this appalling problem. It is simply untrue to suggest that I or my colleagues voted to allow water companies to allow sewage dumping.

Rosebank

November 2022

As a former environment editor of the Observer and former Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment I am fully committed to our Net-Zero target. I was delighted to see the Prime Minister reiterate his commitment to the environment at the recent COP27 conference in Egypt. I am determined to ensure that we pass on a more sustainable planet for future generations. Unfortunately, the reality is that we simply do not have the capacity to operate on renewable energy alone in the United Kingdom as of yet. Nor do we have the nuclear capacity of other countries such as France.

I am a huge advocate of renewable and nuclear sources of energy that will drastically reduce our carbon emissions in Britain. In the meantime, we have to accept that a degree of our energy must come from non-renewable sources. If we were to immediately cease the use of all non-renewable energy it would precipitate an unprecedented collapse in the economy and in living standards. We need to ensure an orderly transition to carbon-free energy.

As such, we have to either import or produce energy. In 2022, we have learned that the importation of energy leaves us at the mercy of the vicissitudes of international geopolitics. The Government has announced that it will temporarily expand North Sea oil production to reduce UK reliance on Russian energy exports and increase UK energy security. The UK Government provides licences through the North Sea Transition Authority to private companies that must follow regulations as laid out by the Government. The Government will soon be launching a new licensing round which is expected to lead to over 100 new licences being awarded. The North Sea Transition Deal builds on the UK’s global strength in offshore oil and gas production and seeks to maximise the advantages for the UK’s oil and gas sector from the global shift to clean growth.

Through the Deal, the UK’s oil and gas sector and the Government will work together to deliver the skills, innovation and new infrastructure required to decarbonise North Sea oil and gas production as well as other carbon intensive industries. This will support up to 40,000 direct and indirect supply chain jobs in decarbonising the UK’s Continental Shelf (UKCS) production and the CCUS and hydrogen sectors. The deal is expected to cut pollution by up to 60 million tonnes by 2030, including 15 million tonnes from oil and gas production on the UKCS, the equivalent of annual emissions from 90 per cent of the UK’s homes. In the year since the deal was agreed, there has been a reduction in carbon emissions from offshore oil and gas production, which have fallen by 11 per cent since 2018 - equivalent to taking around a million cars off the road for the year.

Big Plastic Count

May 2022

I agree that we need to reduce plastic pollution and The Big Plastic Count is undoubtedly a fantastic initiative to achieve this aim. The Government is already taking steps to address plastic pollution. The Resources and Waste Strategy for England sets out the Government’s plans to reduce, reuse, and recycle more plastic than we do now.

Ministers have committed to work towards all plastic packaging placed on the market being recyclable or reusable by 2025. Significant progress that has already been made to address plastic pollution. This includes introducing one of the world’s toughest bans on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products and bringing in measures to restrict the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds. The use of single-use carrier bags has been reduced in the main supermarkets by over 95 per cent with the 5p charge.

I know that this has been increased to 10p and extended it to all retailers. The Government recently consulted on proposals to ban the supply of single-use plastic plates, cutlery, and balloon sticks, and expanded and extruded polystyrene food and beverage containers, including cups. Ministers are committed to going further and addressing other sources of plastic pollution and ran a call for evidence to gather information on other problematic plastic items, including wet wipes, tobacco filters, sachets, and other single-use cups.

Further, the Environment Act 2021 includes a raft of new powers to address plastic pollution and litter, including a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers, which will recycle billions more plastic bottles and stop them being landfilled or littered.

The Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for packaging will make manufacturers responsible for the full net cost of recycling their packaging waste and encourage more recyclable packaging. In addition, the Act establishes greater consistency in the recycling system and introduces new powers to make it easier to place charges on single-use plastic items that threaten our ecosystems.

Onshore Wind

April 2022

National planning policy encourages local authorities to support our national transition to a low-carbon future with a positive strategy to promote energy from renewable sources. Onshore wind is one of the most cost effective electricity generating technologies and already accounts for approximately a quarter of installed renewable capacity in the UK.

The Government’s Net Zero Strategy highlights the importance of wind technology to a low cost net zero system and the need to increase locally supported onshore wind as we work towards a greener future. More widely, ministers have committed to reviewing the National Planning Policy Framework to ensure that the planning system contributes to climate change mitigation as fully as possible and is aligned with our net zero targets.

Nonetheless, protecting the beauty and local amenity of our countryside is something I consider with the utmost importance. That is why I welcome new plans to consult on developing local partnerships for a number of supportive communities who wish to host new onshore wind infrastructure.

New projects which receive strong local backing will be accompanied by benefits, such as lower energy bills. In addition, existing onshore wind infrastructure will be improved where updates and replacements are required.

Jackdaw Gas Field

April 2022

Proposals for Shell Jackdaw development have been rejected by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) on two occasions - most recently following a revised proposal from Shell in January.

Shell has subsequently submitted an amended proposal which will be reviewed, and a decision will be made by the Oil and Gas Authority. It should be noted that the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy must give his approval before any consent is given. My colleague's decision will be based on the environmental impact assessment for the project.

Oil and natural gas will still be required for heating, cooking and transport until we reach net zero in 2050, and after that will still be needed for the production of many everyday essentials like medicines, plastics, cosmetics and household appliances. While the Government is working hard to drive down demand for fossil fuels, there will continue to be ongoing demand for oil and gas over the coming years, as recognised by the independent Climate Change Committee, with the UK as net importers of both oil and gas.

Fairtrade Fortnight

February 2022

Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet; tackling it is the number one policy priority of HM Government. In support of this, HMG is doubling its ICF spend to £11.6 billion between April 2021 and March 2026, compared with the previous 5-year commitment of £5.8 billion between April 2016 and March 2021. 

At COP26, 141 countries committed to halting and reversing forest loss and land degradation by 2030 in the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use. HMG has allotted up to £1.5 billion in ICF over five years to support action to protect and restore forests in developing countries. In the activities supported by the pledge, HMG has promised to promote the full, effective, and willing participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in programmes that protect and restore forests, reduce deforestation and forest degradation, and to work to ensure that benefits reach smallholders and local communities.

At COP26 in Glasgow more public and private finance was mobilised to support climate action in developing countries than ever before. Governments have committed to double the overall finance for adaptation and to better address the threat of loss and damage in climate-vulnerable countries. HMG is working to ensure that all countries make good on their pledges ahead of handing over the COP Presidency to Egypt later this year. 

I recognise your point about access. While the amount of available finance is increasing, the current mechanisms for accessing it are often slow, complex and uncertain. The Taskforce on Access to Climate Finance, co-chaired by Fiji and the UK, was established in response to calls for reform from developing countries.

The Taskforce aims to address the way ICF is accessed through the implementation of a new approach to ensure countries and communities get the finance they need faster, and in alignment with their own plans and priorities. 

HMG has committed £100m to support implementation of the new approach set out in the Principles and Recommendations, and ministers encourage other providers and recipients to apply this approach.

Clean Heat

February 2022

The Heat and Buildings Strategy marks a step change in improving energy efficiency and how we heat them. From 2035, all new heating systems installed in UK homes will either use low-carbon technologies, such as electronic heat pumps, or will support other new technologies, such as hydrogen-ready boilers, where the Government is confident fuel can be clean and green.  

To encourage consumers to install low-carbon alternatives, a new £450 million three-year Boiler Upgrade Scheme will offer households £5,000 for low-carbon heating systems, such as heat pumps. This scheme is scheduled to open in April 2022.  

The strategy also announced that the Government is boosting funding for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, by investing a further £800 million over 2022/23 to 2024/25, and the Home Upgrade Grant, by investing a further £950 million over 2022/23 to 2024/25. This aims to improve the energy performance of low-income households’ homes, support low-carbon heat installations, help to reduce fuel poverty and build the green retrofitting sector to benefit all homeowners. 

I do appreciate your concern that these changes do not go far enough. It is important to remember that we are only now emerging from a pandemic that had a significant impact upon public finances. Funding decisions must now reflect that reality. Nonetheless, there is always more that we can do and I shall certainly bear your thoughts in mind for conversations with Ministerial colleagues. 

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