The Prime Minister (Boris Johnson) Before I begin today’s
statement, I would like to say a few words about the sickening
attack that took place yesterday morning outside Liverpool Women’s
Hospital. On behalf of the whole House, I want to pay tribute to
the swift and professional response by the extraordinary men and
women of the emergency services, who, once again, showed themselves
to be the very best among us. The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre
has today raised the...Request free
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The Prime Minister ()
Before I begin today’s statement, I would like to say a few words
about the sickening attack that took place yesterday morning
outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital. On behalf of the whole House,
I want to pay tribute to the swift and professional response by
the extraordinary men and women of the emergency services, who,
once again, showed themselves to be the very best among us.
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has today raised the
nationwide threat level from substantial to severe, meaning that
an attack is highly likely. The police are keeping both myself
and the Home Secretary informed on developments and we will, in
turn, keep the House updated on the investigation as it
continues.
And now, Madam Deputy Speaker, with your permission I should like
to make a statement on the United Nations Climate Change
Conference, better known as COP26, which took place in the
magnificent city of Glasgow over the past two weeks. It was the
biggest political gathering of any kind ever held in the United
Kingdom. One hundred and ninety four countries were represented.
We had around 120 heads of state and heads of government, 38,000
accredited delegates, and countless tens of thousands more in the
streets, parks and venues outside.
It was a summit that many people predicted would fail, and a
summit, I fear, that some quietly wanted to fail. Yet it was a
summit that proved the doubters and the cynics wrong, because
COP26 succeeded not just in keeping 1.5 alive, but in doing
something that no UN climate conference has ever done before by
uniting the world in calling time on coal. In 25 previous COPs,
all the way back to Berlin in 1995, not one delivered a mandate
to remove so much as a single lump of coal from one power station
boiler. For decades, tackling the single biggest cause of carbon
emissions proved as challenging as eating the proverbial
elephant—it was just so big that nobody knew quite where to
start. In Glasgow, we took the first bite. We have secured a
global commitment to phasing down coal. As John Kerry pointed
out, we cannot phase out coal without first phasing it down, as
we transition to other cleaner energy sources. We also have, for
the first time, a worldwide recognition that we will not get
climate change under control as long as our power stations are
consuming vast quantities of the sedimentary super-polluter that
is coal. That alone is a great achievement, but we have not just
signalled the beginning of the end for coal; we have ticked our
boxes on cars, cash and trees as well.
The companies that build a quarter of the world’s automobiles
have agreed to stop building carbon emission vehicles by 2035,
and cities from São Paulo to Seattle have pledged to ban them
from their streets. We have pioneered a whole new model—an
intellectual breakthrough —that sees billions in climate finance,
development bank investment and so forth being used to trigger
trillions from the private sector to drive the big
decarbonisation programmes in countries such as South Africa. And
we have done something that absolutely none of the commentators
saw coming, by building a coalition of more than 130 countries to
protect up to 90% of our forests around the world—those great
natural soakers of carbon.
None of this was a happy accident or inevitability. The fact that
we were there at all, in the face of a global pandemic, is in
itself the result of a vast and complex effort involving
countless moving parts. Right until the very end, there was the
real prospect that no agreement would be reached. What has been
achieved has only come about thanks to month after month of
concerted British diplomacy—the countless meetings; the
innumerable phone calls; the banging of heads at the United
Nations General Assembly, the Petersberg dialogue, President
Biden’s climate summit, the Security Council, the G7 and the
G20—and the setting of several examples by the UK, because again
and again the task of our negotiators was made easier by the fact
that the UK was not asking anyone to do anything that we are not
doing ourselves.
We have slashed our use of coal so much that our last two
coal-fired power stations will go offline for good in 2024. We
have more than doubled our climate finance, providing vital
support for poor and vulnerable nations around the world. We have
made a legally binding commitment to reach net zero—the first
major economy to do so. We have set a date at which hydrocarbon
internal combustion engines will reach the end of the road. We
have shown the world that it is possible to grow an economy while
cutting carbon, creating markets for clean technology, and
delivering new green jobs that reduce emissions and increase
prosperity.
Every one of those achievements was not just great news for our
country and our planet, but another arrow in the quiver of our
fantastic team in Glasgow—a team led by the COP26 President, my
right hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (). From the moment that he
picked up the COP reins, he has been absolutely tireless in his
efforts to secure the change that we need. Although I am pretty
sure that what he really needs now is a well-earned break, I do
not think that any of us here is going to be able to hold him
back as he sets off pushing countries to go further still, and
ensuring that the promises made in Glasgow are delivered and not
diluted.
But success has many parents, so I want to say a huge thank you
to the officials—in our own COP unit, in Downing Street and
across Government, in UK embassies around the world and at the
United Nations—who pulled out all the stops to make the event
work and to shepherd through the agreements that have been
reached. I also thank everybody on the ground at the Scottish
Event Campus in Glasgow—security, catering, transport, the
relentlessly cheery volunteers, the police from across the whole
country who kept everybody safe from harm, the public health
authorities who kept us safe from covid—and everyone in the
Scottish Government. Above all, I want to say a big, big thank
you to the people of Glasgow, who had to put up with so much
disruption in their city and who welcomed the world all the same.
I say to them: we could not have done it without you.
Is there still more to do? Well, of course there is. I am not for
one moment suggesting that we can safely close the book on
climate change. In fact, I can think of nothing more dangerous
than patting ourselves on the back and telling ourselves that the
job is done—because this job will not be complete until the whole
world has not only set off on the goal to reach net zero but
arrived at that destination: a goal that, even with the best of
intentions from all actors, cannot be achieved overnight. While
COP26 has filled me with optimism about our ability to get there,
I cannot now claim to be certain that we will, because we have
seen some countries that really should know better dragging their
heels on their Paris commitments. But if—and it is still a
massive if—they make good on their pledges, then I believe that
Glasgow will be remembered as the place where we secured a
historic agreement and the world began to turn the tide. Before
Paris, we were on course for 4° of warming. After Paris, that
number fell to a still catastrophically dangerous 3°. This
afternoon, after the Glasgow climate pact, it stands close to 2°.
It is still too high—the numbers are still too hot, the warming
still excessive—but it is closer than we have ever been to the
relative safety of 1.5°, and now we have an all-new roadmap to
help us get there.
Aristotle taught us that virtue comes not from reasoning and
instruction but from habit and from practice. So the success of
the Glasgow climate pact lies not just in the promises but in the
move that the whole world has now made from setting abstract
targets to adopting the nuts-and-bolts programme of work to meet
those targets and to reduce CO2 emissions. We are now talking
about the how rather than the what, and getting into a habit of
cutting CO2 that is catching on not just with Governments and
businesses but with billions of people around the world. It is
for that reason that I believe that COP26 in Glasgow has been a
success and that 1.5° is still alive. That is something I believe
that every person in our United Kingdom can and should take
immense pride in, and I commend this statement to the House.
16:32:00
(Holborn and St Pancras)
(Lab)
I join the Prime Minister in extending our thoughts across the
House to the people of Liverpool who are in shock at yesterday’s
events, and pay tribute to the response of the emergency
services.
Let me start by paying tribute to the COP President. Whatever the
shortcomings of the deal, his diligence, his integrity and his
commitment to the climate are clear for all to see. I also pay
tribute to his team of civil servants. Their dedication,
expertise and service was never in doubt but always remarkable.
They knew that COP26 was the most important international summit
ever hosted on these shores. Why? The simple maths of the climate
crisis. At Paris we set out the goal of limiting global warming
to 1.5°. That is the tipping point beyond which the world is set
to see billions of people facing extreme heatwaves, countless
millions displaced from their homes, and the destruction of
natural wonders like the world’s coral reefs. The science does
not negotiate and no politician can move the goalposts. To have
any hope of 1.5°, we must halve global emissions by 2030. The
task at Glasgow was to set out credible plans for delivering
that.
Although the summit has been one of modest progress, we cannot
kid ourselves: plans to cut emissions are still way short. The
pledges made in Glasgow for 2030, even if all fully implemented,
represent less than 25% of the ambition required. Rather than a
manageable 1.5°, they put us on track for a devastating 2.4°.
That is why, according to the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, the goal of 1.5° is now on “life support”. We need
to deliver intensive care, and that starts by being honest about
what has gone wrong.
International negotiations are complex and difficult, and those
who have dragged their feet the most bear the greatest
responsibility, but the summit was held back by the Prime
Minister’s guileless boosterism, which only served to embolden
the big emitters. The Prime Minister praised inadequate net zero
plans. He called the Australian plans heroic, even though their
plan was so slow that it was in line with 4° of global warming.
By providing this cover, the Prime Minister had little chance of
exerting influence over the other big emitters, and we saw many
more disappointing national plans.
The Prime Minister also dressed up modest sectoral commitments as
being transformational. Earlier in COP, the Government claimed
that 190 countries and organisations had agreed to end coal. On
closer inspection, only 46 of them were countries. Of those, only
23 were new signatories and 10 do not even use coal. The 13 that
remain do not include the biggest coal users: China, the US,
India and Australia.
As things moved forward with no public pressure, the big emitters
were emboldened. They clubbed together later in COP to gut the
main deal’s wording on coal. Only someone who thinks that
promises are meaningless could now argue that an agreement to
“phase down” coal is the same as an agreement to phase it
out.
Then there was the long overdue £100 billion in climate finance.
It is still not being delivered, even though that money was
promised to developing countries more than a decade ago. Failure
to deliver has damaged trust and created a huge obstacle to
building the coalition, which can drive climate action, between
the most vulnerable developing countries and ambitious developed
countries. That coalition was the foundation of the landmark
Paris agreement in 2015, creating the pincer movement to maximise
pressure on the world’s biggest emitters, including China. It is
deeply regrettable that at Glasgow, we did not see a repeat.
Instead, developing countries were still having to make the case
for the long-promised $100 billion in the final hours of the
summit.
Given all that, and the imperative to revive 1.5° from life
support, what will be different in the next year in the run-up to
COP27? Britain has a special and particular responsibility as COP
president. First, we need to reassemble the Paris climate
coalition and build trust with the developing world. Cutting
overseas aid does not build trust; it destroys it. Will the Prime
Minister therefore immediately commit to reversing those
cuts?
Secondly, there can be no free passes for major emitters,
including our friends. We are doing a trade deal with Australia
where we have allowed it to drop Paris temperature commitments.
That was a mistake. Will the Prime Minister put it right?
Thirdly, the Prime Minister is right to say that we need to power
past coal and phase out fossil fuels, but his ability to lead on
the issue internationally has been hampered by his actions at
home. It has never made sense for the Government to be flirting
with a new coal mine or to greenlight the Cambo oilfield. Will he
rewrite the planning framework to rule out coal, and will he now
say no to Cambo?
Finally, will the Prime Minister sort out the Chancellor? The
Budget was delivered in the week before COP26 as world leaders
began to arrive on these shores, but it did not even mention
climate change. It gave a tax break for domestic flights and fell
woefully short of the investment needed to deliver green jobs and
a fair transition.
The Prime Minister has been the wrong man in the wrong place at
the wrong time. Glasgow has been a missed opportunity—a stumble
forward when we needed to make great strides, and more climate
delay when we needed delivery—and 1.5° is now on life support. We
still have the chance to keep 1.5° alive, but only with intensive
care. We must speak honestly about the challenge that we face to
rebuild the coalition that we need and to take on the big
emitters. We can, and we must, change course.
The Prime Minister
If I may say so, Madam Deputy Speaker, that was the usual
pathetic attempt by the Leader of the Opposition to suck and blow
at once. He was trying to congratulate the UK Government on
success at COP but somehow attack me, and I think it is pathetic.
Let me take the right hon. and learned Gentleman’s points in
turn.
On Australia, it has signed up to net zero for the first time
ever. On coal, no COP has mentioned phasing out coal before; 65
countries have now committed to phasing it out altogether by
2040, including the four biggest users of coal-fired power
stations: Poland, Indonesia and others. He talks about climate
finance and the UK Government rescinding their commitments, which
is simply untrue. We have doubled our commitments to tackling
climate change around the world and helping the developed world,
with £12.6 billion, as he knows full well. That commitment way
outstrips that of most other countries.
The right hon. and learned Gentleman talks about UK leadership.
The UK, throughout the campaign—which has been going on for two
years—to get the right result and keep 1.5° alive, has been way
out in front under this Government. We were the first major
economy to legislate for net zero; 90% of the world has now
followed us. At COP, we had one of the most ambitious nationally
determined contributions of any country. If it had not been for
the UK Government, nothing at all would have been included to do
with nature and protecting forests. The world listened to us at
COP because they knew that our 10-point plan was not only cutting
emissions but helping to generate hundreds of thousands of new
high-wage, high-skill jobs. They can see that that programme will
enable them to power past carbon and develop their economies.
As a result of everything that we have done at COP, we have been
able to keep 1.5° alive. As I listen to the right hon. and
learned Gentleman, I feel that he is finding it very difficult to
reconcile himself to the fact of a United Kingdom diplomatic and
environmental success. If he really meant all those fine words
with which he began about UK negotiators and the COP, he should
stick to that script, because that was the right one.
(Maidenhead) (Con)
I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’
Financial Interests. May I first echo the remarks made by my
right hon. Friend about the appalling attack in Liverpool? The
thoughts of everybody in the House are with the people of
Liverpool.
I congratulate the UK presidency on the significant commitments
made at COP26, notably by Governments on deforestation and
methane but also by individual businesses on their work to
achieve net zero. I am sure my right hon. Friend agrees that
there is much more to be done—he said it in his statement. With
the COP presidency, the UK has a critical role over the next year
in ensuring that the commitments made are delivered on and in
bringing the intransigent countries—notably, China, Russia and
India—back round the table to raise their sights on what they are
willing to achieve. Will he agree with that and set out what the
Government’s immediate plans are for that work?
The Prime Minister
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right about the vital
importance of the private sector. I think that this COP was a
breakthrough in many ways, but not least because of the emphasis
that it placed on getting the private sector in to help
developing countries in particular to meet their carbon targets.
She is also right in what she says about the role of the COP
presidency, because my right hon. Friend the COP26 President
continues in his office for a year, and we will use that
period—working with our Egyptian friends, who take over for
COP27—to hold our friends and partners around the world to
account for what they have promised, because it is only if they
keep to what they have promised that we will be able to deliver
for our children, and that is what we intend to do.
(Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
(SNP)
May I associate myself with the remarks of the Prime Minister on
the terror attack that we saw in Liverpool yesterday? We all
stand together against those who would perpetuate such
crimes.
Let me thank the Prime Minister for the advance copy of his
statement, and I am delighted that today the Prime Minister has
remembered that COP happened in Glasgow, rather than in
Edinburgh, as he said last night. Maybe he could have led more
from the front at COP, and he would actually have known which
Scottish city the conference was taking place in.
In fairness, however, it is right to acknowledge that there was
at least one member of the UK Government who committed themselves
passionately to the Glasgow conference, and the UK COP26
President deserves credit and thanks for the role that he has
played over the course of the last few weeks and months.
We all know that the Glasgow climate pact is far from everything
it should be, but it does contain many positives for us to build
on. Whether or not it succeeds now depends entirely on whether
countries deliver on the commitments they made, and we need to
hold them to those. That is the only way to truly keep the 1.5° C
target alive, and we must make sure, ultimately, that we accept
all of our responsibilities to deliver on that. If that urgent
leadership is to be shown, then the example of that leadership
needs to begin at home.
The Scottish Government led on climate justice through-out COP.
We were the first country to pledge funds for loss and damage to
help those vulnerable countries that have contributed least to
climate change but are suffering its worst effects. This is about
reparation, not charity, so will the Prime Minister reverse his
cuts to international aid, follow our First Minister’s lead, and
back and contribute to the creation of a loss and damage
facility?
The Glasgow climate pact also contains a commitment to increase
nationally determined contributions by the end of 2022, so can
the Prime Minister confirm that the UK will urgently update its
own NDC commitments?
Meeting our targets also means rapidly increasing investment in
green jobs. Prior to recess, the Prime Minister made a commitment
to go and look again at the issue of investment in tidal stream
energy. Now that he has presumably looked into this, can he today
commit to a ringfenced fund of £71 million for tidal stream
energy as part of the contracts for difference process?
Finally, on carbon capture and storage—I know that the Prime
Minister is expecting a question, and I make no apology for the
fact that I will keeping asking these questions until the
promises made to Scotland’s north-east are finally delivered—let
us not forget that the UK Exchequer has taken £350 billion of tax
revenues out of North sea oil, and it is now our responsibility
to make sure that we invest in carbon capture and storage. Last
week, Ineos added its voice
to the growing shock and anger that track 1 status for the Acorn
project was rejected by the UK Government, so will the Prime
Minister reverse this devastating decision and back the Scottish
cluster?
The Prime Minister
I thank the right hon. Gentleman. I should say, taking his points
in reverse order, that of course the Acorn project remains a
strong contender, as I have told him several times from this
Dispatch Box. He should not give up hope. It is a very
interesting project, and we will look at it.
On our NDCs, the UK is already compliant with 1.5° C, as a result
of the pledges we have made, both by 2030 and 2035, so if we can
deliver on those, then we believe that we will be able to
restrain our emissions.
I have told the right hon. Gentleman before that I am interested
in tidal power and contracts for difference for tidal power, and
he is right that the Government should invest in making sure we
have a tidal power industry in this country, as we have wind
power and solar power industries, because all the evidence is
that the costs come down, and that is the role of Government.
Finally, on the right hon. Gentleman’s point about the
whereabouts of COP, as he will well understand, it would never
have been in Scotland at all had Scotland not been part of the
United Kingdom.
(Tunbridge Wells) (Con)
May I join the warm congratulations to the COP President and his
team, and, on the location, acknowledge the role of my right hon.
Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) in securing COP in the
UK and Glasgow, to give us the opportunity for this great
exercise of British diplomacy?
Will the Prime Minister recognise that in the year ahead, as well
as holding countries to their contributions, there is the
important opportunity to make scientific progress and progress in
innovation, which will be at least as important in securing the
ambitions that were inked in Glasgow, and will he say a bit about
how UK leadership over the year ahead can advance our ambitions
on that score as well?
The Prime Minister
I thank my right hon. Friend. As he knows, the UK has virtually
doubled our investment in R&D, and Sir , the Government chief
scientific adviser, has said we want to focus on climate change
and green technology under the national Council for Science and
Technology. That is why we are putting £22 billion into R&D.
The opportunities are immense, and the opportunity to reduce the
cost to the consumer of heat pumps, electric vehicles and other
green technology is also immense.
(Kingston and Surbiton) (LD)
May I associate myself and my party with the Prime Minister’s
remarks on the horrific attacks in Liverpool?
We had all hoped that the UK would lead the world to a bold
agreement at Glasgow, to turn the tide on dangerous climate
change. Despite the efforts of the COP President and the
excellent UK negotiating team, regrettably, the agreement fell
short, potentially dangerously so, yet there is still an
opportunity for the UK to drive global climate action by cleaning
up the City of London. Fossil fuel investors raise billions of
pounds in this very city for coal and oil projects around the
world. While China and India stopped a better deal on fossil
fuels at COP, they cannot stop the Prime Minister showing
leadership here in London, so will he stop dirty fossil fuel
money for global coal and oil projects being raised here in the
City of London?
The Prime Minister
The right hon. Gentleman knows very well that, after UK
leadership, we secured at COP an end to the international
financing of coal around the world. China has done that, leading
to a number of other countries immediately following suit, so
progress is being made. As I said in my opening statement, the UK
is also abandoning exports of hydrocarbons and we are going to be
followed in that by other countries.
(Sutton Coldfield)
(Con)
It is clear that the COP in Glasgow has gone better than many of
us feared, but, as I am sure my right hon. Friend would agree,
there are no possible grounds for complacency. Will he use the
remainder of the UK presidency to redouble efforts to share
excess vaccine doses with developing countries? Quite apart from
making us safer in the UK, it will also bolster internationalism
and British international leadership in the meetings ahead
envisaged in the Glasgow agreement.
The Prime Minister
Yes, indeed; although vaccines per se were not discussed at COP,
there was a long discussion at the G20 in Rome, and the UK has a
fantastic record of supporting at-cost vaccines around the
world—the 1.5 billion AstraZeneca doses, to say nothing of the
huge contributions the UK has made to both Gavi and COVAX to
ensure that people around the world get vaccinated, because
nobody is safe until everybody is safe.
(Knowsley) (Lab)
I thank the Prime Minister for the comments he made about the
appalling attack in Liverpool yesterday. Having spent some years
on the Intelligence and Security Committee, I am aware that in
many attacks, those involved—I know it is too early to say at
this point—were on the radar of the security services. If that
proves to be the case in this incident, will the Prime Minister
undertake to look at how those cases are kept under review?
On COP26, I add my voice to those of others who have said that it
is really important that those who are currently standing outside
the tent of those who agree are brought into it. Can the Prime
Minister give us some indication of his strategy for doing
that?
The Prime Minister
I thank the right hon. Gentleman. On his point about picking up
potential terrorists earlier, he is absolutely right. He will
know from his work on the ISC that the potential for
cross-referring between the various data points that we have is,
I think, the way forward, and that may help us, if we can do it
in a sensitive way, to predict more of the problems that have
been cropping up.
As for bringing people into the tent, I think the right hon.
Gentleman is referring to ensuring that everybody in the
developing world feels that they are being properly represented
in these conversations. Is that what—
indicated dissent.
Hon. Members
The big emitters.
The Prime Minister
I see; he is talking about India, China and others.
[Interruption.] I am sorry, Madam Deputy Speaker. I think the
House will forgive me; it was not entirely clear from his
question which people he wanted. I want everybody brought into
the tent, for the avoidance of doubt.
With India in particular, we need to work with the Indian
Government, who are already doing some very impressive things, to
show how, with new technology, we can help that country to power
past coal. With the One Sun One World One Grid project, it has a
huge amount of renewables already going, but the UK can take a
leading role, with partners around the world, in building the
coalitions of support and investment by the private sector to
help even an economy as huge as India’s to make this transition,
and make it much faster than people currently think possible.
Look at the speed with which the UK has done it; other countries
around the world can do the same.
(South West Wiltshire)
(Con)
I congratulate the Prime Minister on his Glasgow achievements.
Can he say what is being done to remedy the international
shortage of critical minerals to make semiconductors, without
which the achievement of our 2035 targets will be impossible?
What more can he do to grow our own silicon valleys to reduce our
reliance on China and Taiwan?
The Prime Minister
My right hon. Friend makes an extremely important point. The
resources are there. There are adequate supplies; the problem
lies in the supply chains. That is an issue that we are working
on, together with our American friends and other partners around
the world, to ensure that there is no disruption in those
supplies of critical things, particularly semi-conductors.
(Brent North) (Lab)
First, may I pay tribute to the right hon. Member for Reading
West ()? He has gained enormous
international respect for the diligent, courteous and tenacious
way in which he conducted the negotiations as COP26
President.
Given that article IV of the Glasgow climate pact requires us to
accelerate the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies, can the
Prime Minister tell us whether the 130% tax super deduction
announced by the Chancellor will now have a climate filter
imposed so that the taxpayer does not end up paying the full cost
of projects such as the Cambo oilfield, and whether the
Government will use the $27.5 billion windfall from the
International Monetary Fund special drawing rights to
significantly scale up their provision of climate finance to
developing countries, as demanded under articles III and V?
The Prime Minister
What I can certainly tell the hon. Gentleman is that the 125%
super deduction he rightly refers to will be of great assistance
to companies across the whole of the UK in investing in new
clean, green technology. That is the way forward.
(Newbury) (Con)
One of the most significant diplomatic achievements of the COP
was getting 130 countries, including the US and the BRIC—Brazil,
Russia, India and China—economies, to agree to halt and reverse
deforestation by 2030. However, we have been here before with the
New York declaration in 2014, which was ultimately unsuccessful
because it lacked any enforcement mechanism. Will my right hon.
Friend say how he thinks we can ensure it will be different this
time?
The Prime Minister
Yes. My hon. Friend makes an absolutely crucial point. This time
it will be different, because at COP26 in Glasgow about 40
leading global financial institutions pledged that they would no
longer invest in companies that supported or made their money out
of deforestation. We also had the companies themselves, big
commodities companies whose names I am sure my hon. Friend will
be familiar with, saying they would no longer invest in products
grown as a result of deforestation across the world. The agency
for holding those sets of businesses to account, both
banks—financial institutions—and companies, will be customers,
account holders and consumers across the whole world, who will
take their investment away from companies if they fail to honour
those commitments. That is a huge change taking place across the
world.
(Newport East) (Lab)
There was a welcome acknowledgement at COP that the world cannot
decarbonise without steel, whether it be for wind turbines,
electric vehicles, energy-efficient buildings or infrastructure.
It was therefore very disappointing that in the Budget there was
little to support the steel industry to decarbonise, little help
with energy prices, and no mention of the already small green
steel fund. What, practically, are the Government going to do to
support our industry—nuts and bolts, as the Prime Minister said
earlier?
The Prime Minister
It is always worth remembering that steel output fell by 50%
under the Labour Government because of their reckless
mismanagement of the energy issue. What we have done is put about
£600 million into relief for the steel industry to help it to
cope with high energy costs, and a £315 million fund to transform
steel and help it to move towards clean, green energy. That is
what is needed.
(South Leicestershire)
(Con)
I thank the Prime Minister, the COP26 President, my right hon.
Friend the Member for Reading West () and all the teams for the
enormous work they have done in putting together a great
programme as the UK hosted COP26, in partnership with Italy. May
I ask the Prime Minister to reassure the good people of South
Leicestershire, and for that matter the country, that the
agreement his Government have entered into, and the policies and
Bills he will bring before Parliament, will not just help to
improve the climate, but bring brilliant jobs to the people of
South Leicestershire as part of the green deal economy that we
are all looking forward to?
The Prime Minister
Yes. I thank my hon. Friend. I should have renewed my thanks for
the Italian presidency of the G20 and co-presidency of COP, and
to Mario Draghi, who did an outstanding job throughout the
period. My hon. Friend is totally right on the green industrial
revolution. In the year since the 10-point plan was put forward
to business around the world, £15 billion of investment in green
technology has been secured in this country and many tens of
thousands of high-wage, high-skilled jobs. That is the
future.
(Islington North) (Ind)
New Delhi is now heading into a pollution lockdown because of the
emissions affecting the people there. The poorest people in the
poorest places all around the world suffer the worst from
pollution. Will the Prime Minister tell us what he is seriously
going to do to bring China, Russia, Australia and others on board
to get rid of their coal production? The answer he gave to the
right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton () was less than clear. Will he now be absolutely clear
that there will be no British financing whatever for any new
fossil fuel industries anywhere in the world?
The Prime Minister
On the right hon. Gentleman’s last point, yes, of course that it
is right. We are abandoning export finance—I made that clear
earlier—for the hydro-carbon industry. That massive change has
been difficult because businesses in this country have benefited
from export finance for many years, but we are making that change
because we want the world to move away from hydrocarbons.
As for what the right hon. Gentleman said about India, I accept
the points that he made, but, as I think I said, we will help the
Indian Government in any way we can to move beyond coal as fast
as they can. Of course, it was disappointing to see the language
changed from “phase out” to “phase down”, but we have never had
any commitments whatever on coal in COP before. I think that what
will now happen is that the global peer pressure on countries to
move away from coal will intensify very rapidly and the change
will happen much faster than people think.
(New Forest East) (Con)
After the downfall of the Soviet Union, it was discovered that
various multilateral agreements that we thought we had over
things such as biological weapons had been systematically
flouted. What confidence can we have if open societies observe
the rules but closed societies cheat? Is there a regime in play
to make sure that we would discover that?
The Prime Minister
One of the things that we agreed at this COP—and one of the
reasons why I believe it is so historic—is, finally, the Paris
rulebook, which contains, among other things, provisions for
transparency and agreement about how we measure what we are
trying to do around the world. That is immensely significant and
it gives a tool to everybody who cares about it. Even in closed
societies—about which my right hon. Friend knows a great
deal—where they may not take voters very seriously, there are
consumers whom they take seriously and people who are willing to
protest, whom they take seriously as well.
(Brighton, Pavilion)
(Green)
The COP26 President has undoubtedly done an excellent job, but
frankly, that is no thanks to the Prime Minister, who has
consistently undermined climate leadership, whether that is by
going ahead with an oilfield at Cambo or cutting aid—1.5 °C is
hanging by a thread and the vulnerable countries feel betrayed,
so a little bit more humility might be in order. He says that we
are not asking others to do anything that we are not doing
ourselves. Will he demonstrate that that is the case by
requesting an urgent and transparent audit by the Office for
Budget Responsibility, independent of the Treasury, of all our
own domestic fossil fuel subsidies, with a view to phasing them
out as soon as possible—yes or no?
The Prime Minister
The hon. Lady, again, rather like the right hon. and learned
Member for Holborn and St Pancras (), is trying to have it both
ways: to suck and blow at once. She cannot say that it was a
successful COP and somehow attack the UK Government; I simply
fail to see the logic. [Interruption.] What we are also doing is
moving beyond coal by 2024. [Interruption.]
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
Order. Hon. Members must not shout at the Prime Minister.
Everyone will have a chance to ask their question—
He is not answering my question!
Madam Deputy Speaker
And the hon. Lady certainly must not shout at me.
(Gainsborough) (Con)
I urge the Prime Minister and other world leaders not to get
ahead of public opinion on this. The people of Gainsborough South
West ward, which I represent—the 27th most deprived ward in the
entire country—are worried not so much about the future of the
Great Barrier Reef in 50 years’ time, but about their great big
bloody heating bills now. They are heavily reliant on gas, of
which we have an abundant supply. Manufacturers in northern
levelling-up towns are worried about their competitiveness with
China, as more and more regulations are imposed on them. To be
fair to India, in Uttar Pradesh, there are millions living in
dire poverty whose emissions are very low. Do we represent them?
Their whole future depends now—this minute—on fossil fuels;
otherwise, they might literally starve. Be realistic.
The Prime Minister
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend. Of course we must be
realistic, but we have seen that it is entirely realistic to move
very rapidly to renewable energy and see the cost of that
renewable energy fall vertiginously, as it has done—the cost of
wind has fallen 60% just since 2015, and solar likewise.
I urge my right hon. Friend to tell his wonderful electorate in
Gainsborough that this is a massive opportunity for us. We have
first mover advantage, as we did in the first industrial
revolution. We are going with this green industrial revolution
now; I believe that it will be of massive long-term benefit to
people across this country.
(Huddersfield)
(Lab/Co-op)
Does the Prime Minister agree that if we are to have any hope of
keeping 1.5° alive, we need to liberate the COP26 President to
lead, with all parties’ support, a kind of revolution across our
country, working together across parties to involve every
community, every town and every city? If we do not grasp this
opportunity with our constituents and the people we represent, we
will not get there. It is vital that this becomes a campaign with
great leadership, but with the full support of every community in
the land.
The Prime Minister
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. If he is offering full
support to the Government from the Opposition Benches, I think he
is absolutely right.
(South West Bedfordshire)
(Con)
Does not the landmark agreement to support South Africa’s just
transition show that even economies that are heavily dependent on
coal can seize a bright and sustainable future and strengthen
themselves as well as the UK economy?
The Prime Minister
I thank my hon. Friend, who is the trade envoy to South Africa. I
also thank the Government of South Africa, led by Cyril
Ramaphosa, who has taken an extraordinary step and built an
international coalition for South Africa to decarbonise its
energy system. It will not necessarily be easy, but it is a way
that we can have a just transition for South Africa. Countries
around the world, including the UK, are coming together to do
that. That is the model for progress that we can make with so
many of the big emitters; as the right hon. Member for Knowsley
( ) was saying, that is the way
forward with the big emitters around the world.
(Leeds Central) (Lab)
All the commitments that countries have made in Glasgow have
credibility only to the extent that they are backed up by plans
at home to deliver the promised emissions reductions. It is now a
question of counting.
Let us take an example. Eventually, all of the 22 million or 23
million gas boilers in this country will have to go. The
Government say that their target is for 600,000 heat pumps a year
to be installed by 2028. The recently published heat and
buildings strategy provides enough funding to help support the
installation of 30,000 a year. Why is the Government’s plan for
decarbonising home heating so far short of what is required?
The Prime Minister
The right hon. Gentleman makes an important point about the need
to decarbonise our heating, but it can be done. There is great
variety in the housing stock of the UK, and I believe that if we
keep on track with investment, supporting and priming the market,
we will be able to bring down radically the cost of ground source
heat pumps and all the other ways to give people the heating that
they need in a clean, green way. That is what we are going to
do.
(Penrith and The Border)
(Con)
I congratulate the Prime Minister, the COP26 President and their
teams on their historic achievements in Glasgow. For me, it was
reassuring to attend the conference and see nature and
sustainable farming at the heart of the programme. Does my right
hon. Friend agree that food production and looking after the
environment go hand in hand—and that that is what our fantastic
British farmers do each and every day?
The Prime Minister
I passionately agree: I know that UK farming is getting cleaner
and greener all the time. I pay tribute to the UK farming
industry, which leads the world in setting standards.
(Edinburgh North and Leith)
(SNP)
Commitments are one thing; actions are another. For the UK to
deliver on its promises and commitments in the COP26 agreement, a
transition to renewable energy must occur, and must be supported
by the Government. Will the Prime Minister commit himself to at
least matching the Scottish Government’s £500 million just
transition fund to drive the move to renewable energy and meet
the UK’s emissions reduction obligations, while also ensuring
that workers are not left behind?
The Prime Minister
The hon. Lady is right to say that a just transition is vital,
but that is why we are investing £12.6 billion around the world
and £26 billion in this country, to help the transition to a
clean, green economy, while creating 440,000 new, high-quality
jobs.
(Colne Valley) (Con)
I congratulate the Prime Minister and the President of COP26 on
their leadership in Glasgow. Does the Prime Minister agree that
we can continue to show leadership by continuing to reduce our
carbon emissions, getting cars and freight off the roads and
reducing the need for domestic flights? We can do that by
investing in high-speed rail, investing in east-west
connectivity, investing in Northern Powerhouse Rail, and
investing in local rail connections such as the
Huddersfield-Penistone-Sheffield line.
The Prime Minister
I congratulate my hon. Friend on his plug for the
Huddersfield-Penistone-Sheffield line. As he knows, I am a
passionate enthusiast for new rail schemes, and he will be
hearing a lot more in the integrated rail plan later this
week.
(York Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
The Prime Minister was sent to Glasgow to keep 1.5 alive, and
left it in intensive care. A year ago he committed himself to the
BioYorkshire project, Yorkshire’s green new deal, but in a year
not a penny or a green new deal job has been delivered. Will he
turn his words into action and support the green new deal?
The Prime Minister
I do not think that any Government in history have done more to
support green technology and green jobs across the whole country.
As I just said to the hon. Member for Edinburgh North and Leith
(), we are creating 440,000 new
jobs as a result of the investments we are making. We are
transforming the UK, including Yorkshire, with a green industrial
revolution, and that is how we are going to continue.
(Newark) (Con)
The Prime Minister is right to say that the whole country should
take pride in the manner in which the UK has hosted the COP talks
in the last few weeks. One of the elements that distinguished
COP26 from previous COPs was the much greater and more meaningful
involvement of business. How can we ensure that that continues
and becomes one of the defining characteristics of the remainder
of the UK’s COP presidency?
The Prime Minister
My right hon. Friend makes an excellent point. I think that that
was one of the most important defining characteristics of this
COP, and the role of business is now seen to be critical by
partners around the world. The new country platforms that we are
creating will only be possible with the help of the trillions of
private sector investment.
(Bristol North West) (Lab)
Will the Prime Minister take this opportunity to show that
Britain leads by her actions, not by her words, and reopen the
UK-Australia trade deal, which notoriously relegated climate
commitments to get the deal over the line?
The Prime Minister
Australia has made its first ever commitment to net zero, and if
you want to look at UK leadership, Madam Deputy Speaker, ours was
the first country—the first major economy—to commit itself to net
zero. Now, 90% of the world is committed to it. It is pretty
clear, even from the grudging, mealy-mouthed words we have heard
from the Opposition, that the overwhelming impression, even on
the Opposition Benches, is that COP26 in Glasgow was a
considerable success.
(North Norfolk) (Con)
The United Kingdom has an enviable record of phasing out coal
because of the success of our renewables sector. I should know
about this, because, as the Prime Minister has said before, the
north Norfolk coast is the capital of the Saudi of wind-powered
generation. With that in mind, will my right hon. Friend act with
extreme speed to get the regulatory and legal framework changed
so that we can implement an offshore transmission network and
stop the damaging cable corridors that connect piecemeal to our
national grid?
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We have proceeded at such a
pace that the cables come ashore in a way that is confused and
very far from optimal. We need to ensure that we work with the
regulator to develop a proper grid to bring the energy onshore in
an organised way, and that work is under way.
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
I call .
(Rutherglen and Hamilton
West) (Ind)
I was not expecting that, Madam Deputy Speaker. First, I thank
the COP26 President’s parliamentary team, who were there in
Glasgow, for helping MPs to navigate their way around the event.
A number of commitments were made on aviation at COP,
acknowledging the need for change to be sustainable for the
industry. I have raised many times the financial difficulties the
industry faces at present. What will the Government do to support
it in decarbonising and meeting jet zero without that becoming
too great a financial burden?
The Prime Minister
I thank the hon. Lady very much. We are supporting the campaign
for jet zero; we want the UK to lead the world in making sure
that planes can fly without using tonnes of kerosene, and there
are many attractive technologies. It will not be easy, but we
want the whole world to come together to fix this. We are setting
an ambitious target of getting more sustainable aviation fuel
into tanks by 2030, and going for electric planes for short
haul.
(Winchester) (Con)
May I add my thanks to the Prime Minister and the unflappable,
unstoppable COP26 President sitting beside him? It is plain to
hear that they have really put themselves out there, and they
have done the country and the world a great service. The
agreement on coal is welcome. They have both been honest that it
could have been better, but does the Prime Minister concur that
the direction of travel on coal is now crystal clear, and that
the pressure on India, China and the other coal-addicted nations
will only increase now? Will he commit his Government to using
every resource at our disposal to finish the job on coal?
The Prime Minister
Yes. I thank my hon. Friend, who is totally right. The way to
finish the job on coal is to show countries that are having
difficulties powering past coal that the technology does exist,
and to use our new country platforms to bring in the private
sector to help us to fix it. That is what is going to happen.
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
We have been considering this subject now for an hour, which is
the normal time for a statement. As this is a historically
important statement, I would like to ensure that everybody who
wishes to ask a question has the opportunity to do so, but they
really will have to be short questions now. I am slightly
concerned about the Prime Minister’s voice; I am sure he is not
concerned, but I am concerned about his voice. It would be a
terrible thing if he were prevented from other things on which he
has to make speeches in the near future because we kept him at
the Dispatch Box for too long—[Interruption.] The Prime Minister
is not concerned; nevertheless we will be as quick as possible
now, because there is other business to get on to.
(Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
(Lab)
The Prime Minister probably admits that the weakest link of the
deal was the lack of progress on defunding the polluters. The
catchily-named GFANZ—Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net
Zero—initiative disappointed many. That now means that 1,400 of
the world’s 2,000 biggest companies do not have net zero targets.
Their combined turnover is nearly $15 trillion, but most pension
savers are funding them, because the information is not there in
their accounts. When will that great deficit be fixed?
The Prime Minister
The right hon. Gentleman makes an important point. The power of
consumers, pension holders and investors is enormous. We are
looking at everything we can do to encourage all companies to
follow suit. Peer pressure and social pressure will have a
massive influence.
(Basildon and Billericay)
(Con)
Real progress has been made at COP26, and we should all be
grateful to its president and the Prime Minister for achieving so
much. However, the Prime Minister will be aware that we must keep
countries’ feet close to the fire. What reassurance can he
provide that the annual progress reports have real teeth, so that
leaders can be held accountable for the progress required in the
short term, in order to ensure that climate change targets
are
The Prime Minister
The most important tool we have now is transparent data. We
agreed the Paris rulebook, so people will not be able to evade
their obligations. The data will be there for all to see, and we
will hold them to account.
(Oldham East and
Saddleworth) (Lab)
I add my voice to those calling for urgent climate justice
reparations for the least-developed countries. They have had a
collective slap in the face, in conjunction with the cuts in
development funding. In the new planning framework, will the
Prime Minister be ruling out fossil fuel developments?
The Prime Minister
We want to move beyond coal. We will have no more coal from 2024,
and around the world we are no longer investing in fossil
fuels.
(Hitchin and Harpenden)
(Con)
At COP in Glasgow, I picked up some frustration from developing
countries about the $100 billion of climate finance. Will the
Prime Minister outline how, over the next year, the UK will help
to set out how this money will reach developing countries? Who
will allocate it and make sure that we hold businesses’ and
countries’ feet to the fire to make sure it happens?
The Prime Minister
We will make sure that we hold the developed world’s feet to the
fire. We got very close to the $100 billion, and we will get
there or thereabouts by 2023. Frankly, that is much better than
seemed possible earlier in the negotiations.
(Eltham) (Lab)
The Prime Minister has dodged the issue of turning the City of
London into the capital of green investment. The UK represents 1%
of global emissions, but the City of London’s corporations and
financial institutions represent 15% of global emissions. Where
is his plan to ensure they commit to 1.5° and zero emissions?
The Prime Minister
The City of London is already the global centre of green
investment, and its lead is continually growing.
(Beaconsfield) (Con)
Will the Prime Minister join me in thanking the COP26 President’s
Parliamentary Private Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for
South Ribble ()? There could have been
no better Back-Bench champion to gently corral and encourage us
all to fight for the environmental issues she holds so dear.
Will the Prime Minister give further information on the £210
million for small nuclear technology? If we had left it to the
Opposition, we would have no nuclear technology or nuclear
capacity to speak of.
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I pay tribute to the COP26
President’s brilliant Parliamentary Private Secretary, and I
confirm that we are putting another £200 million into supporting
small modular reactors.
(Nottingham East) (Lab)
The UK’s leadership of COP26 was undermined by climate hypocrisy
at home, but we still have the COP presidency and a change of
policy now could still influence others. In that spirit, will the
Government stop drilling in the Cambo oilfield, scrap plans for a
new coalmine in Cumbria and cancel the tax cuts on domestic
flights—yes or no?
The Prime Minister
This country has already shown unbelievable leadership in
powering beyond coal, and the countries of the world can see
that.
(Cleethorpes) (Con)
As my right hon. Friend is aware, northern Lincolnshire and the
Humber are major centres of our renewable energy sector and can
play a major part in spearheading our achievement of the COP26
targets. Will he reaffirm the Government’s support for developing
the industry, not just in northern Lincolnshire but elsewhere,
which would have the added benefit of levelling up many of our
industrial areas?
The Prime Minister
Yes. I congratulate my hon. Friend on what he is doing to support
low-carbon industries across the north-east. That has immense
potential throughout the country—he is quite right.
(Wirral South) (Lab)
I noticed that the Prime Minister mentioned Aristotle in his
statement, so could he explain how breaking his own manifesto
promise to the poorest people in the world, those worst affected
by climate change, could possibly be consistent with the actions
of the virtuous person?
The Prime Minister
Because we have not. What we are doing is
continuing—[Interruption.] Opposition Members must really retract
this, because what we are doing is not only committing £11.6
billion, which I announced and which was a doubling of the
previous commitment, but adding, as soon as we can, as soon as
the numbers will allow us, another £1 billion, taking it to £12.6
billion. That is one of the biggest commitments to tackling
climate change around the world of any country in the world and
the hon. Member should be proud of it.
(Runnymede and Weybridge)
(Con)
I congratulate the Prime Minister and the COP President on the
incredible achievements at the COP summit. Does my right hon.
Friend agree that it is science, technology, research and
development that will get us through this mess, but that that is
going to need a huge workforce skilled in STEM? Could he update
the House on the work the Government are doing not only to
improve and enhance careers and training in STEM, but to break
down barriers for women and people from marginalised backgrounds
to taking on those careers?
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is making a very important point. We have not only
to train more people up in STEM—and we are investing hugely in
skills— but to make sure that people with existing skills in
hydrocarbon-intensive means of propulsion are trained to
work with EVs and other low-carbon technologies. That is what we
are doing as well.
(Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
(PC)
We know that the COP26 agreement is the bare minimum in terms of
what needs to be done to tackle the climate emergency already
claiming lives around the world. Last week, Wales joined as a
core member of the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance. At the same
time, news came that the Conservative party, under this Prime
Minister, has pocketed £1.5 million in donations from oil and gas
interests. He can redeem his reputation by joining Wales, France,
Denmark and others as a core member of the Beyond Oil & Gas
Alliance—will he?
The Prime Minister
I thank the right hon. Lady for that, but we are going beyond
hydrocarbons faster than virtually any other country in the world
and she should be proud of that.
(Reading East) (Lab)
I pay tribute to the COP President for his work. Will the Prime
Minister now indicate how he is going to put pressure on the
major coal producers and importers, and indeed how he will use UK
trade policy to achieve that?
The Prime Minister
We will hold all coal producers, importers and mining countries
around the world to their commitments to reduce our global
dependence on coal. They have made them in black and white in the
Glasgow climate pact and we will hold them to account.
(Newcastle upon Tyne
North) (Lab)
I am sorry to cast a shadow on the mutual backslapping here
today, but there has been widespread concern that the Prime
Minister simply lacked the leadership we needed to see, given
that he had the presidency of COP26 and the G7 chair. Does he not
recognise that we are a country that now routinely threatens to
renege on its international commitments and that has cut
international aid—what it is putting back does not make up for
the cut and we are one of the only G7 countries to do that? Does
he not recognise that he simply lacks the credibility and trust
that we currently need to lead on this issue and that he needs to
sort that out?
The Prime Minister
The Opposition have had a very tough job this afternoon, because
they have tried time and again to congratulate the UK Government
on achieving a success at COP26, while simultaneously attacking
the UK Government for whatever failings they see——I think they
should stick with their initial script.
(Dulwich and West Norwood)
(Lab)
I was pleased to attend a part of COP26 as a member of the
Environmental Audit Committee. It was a particular privilege to
meet members of the Ugandan delegation who took part in an event
that we hosted. I have to say that the Prime Minister’s statement
is completely tone deaf in the face of the frustration and
desperation of countries of the global south at the failure of
this COP to deliver on the 12-year-old promise of $100 billion a
year for climate finance. Will he accept that his decision to
persist with indefensible cuts to UK aid effectively tied the
hands of his own negotiating committee on this vital issue?
The Prime Minister
The hon. Member is talking total rubbish. We have
doubled—[Interruption.] No, Opposition Members literally do not
know what they are talking about. We have doubled climate finance
for developing countries. The reason why the vulnerable countries
accepted the deal, finally, was because we have got a commitment
to $100 billion. Yes, I would have liked it faster, but it is
there in black and white. Maybe she has not read it.
(Bristol South) (Lab)
Bristol was the first local authority in the country to declare a
climate and ecological emergency. We have set out a city-wide
strategy to make Bristol carbon neutral, climate resilient and
wildlife rich by 2030—the nuts and bolts, if you like—but Bristol
and other cities need investment, and the Government’s funding
model currently makes us compete with other cities. The UK
Government cannot reach their targets using that funding model,
so will they look at it again and help us with the private
investment that we need to make a massive contribution to the
Government’s own national targets?
The Prime Minister
I thank Bristol for what it is doing. We are committed to
regional plans for net zero. It should be possible within the
funding envelope that Bristol has, but we will certainly look at
it.
(Bath) (LD)
The Department of Energy and Climate Change, which was under Lib
Dem leadership until 2015, was a huge driver towards
decarbonisation across the board. There are now renewed calls to
bring back such a Department, but there seem to be sources in the
Treasury who are against such a move, saying that it would
become
“the biggest begging bowl in Whitehall outside the NHS”.
Does the Prime Minister agree that we should bring back the
Department of Energy and Climate Change, or does he agree with
the Treasury?
The Prime Minister
The hon. Lady is totally wrong, because we need to integrate
business into the fight against climate change. That is the way
to do it, as we have done with wind power, and we also need
nuclear power.
(Ealing Central and Acton)
(Lab)
The Government say they are now following the science—they said
it during covid and they are saying it on climate—but over the
weekend they managed to alienate the entire scientific community
of this nation with leaks to the press saying that the UK is
about to be wrenched out of three different multibillion-pound
international research and infrastructure projects that tackle
exactly those two things, because they are backed by the EU
scientific budget. Will the Prime Minister confirm that we need a
joined-up approach on these things and that it is not about
settling old scores? Can he tell us that those reports are truly
media tittle-tattle?
The Prime Minister
I do not know quite what relevance that has to COP, but the UK is
investing massively. We have doubled our commitment to R&D,
funding for science is going up to £22 billion and we have set up
a new advanced research and invention agency, which is based on
the model of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and
is unlike anything that any previous Government have done.
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
Order. Will everyone who has a long question written or typed out
edit it to half what they have? We must have much shorter
questions. The problem is that when people read their questions,
they are great big, long questions; “Erskine May” makes it clear
that questions should never be read.
(Sheffield, Hallam) (Lab)
At COP26, the Prime Minister said we were at one minute to
midnight; I am afraid his clock might be a bit slow. The action
that has been set out is not enough. Aristotle asked whether hope
is a waking dream; I would really like to hear from the Prime
Minister that he is going to stop Cambo and halt the Cumbria
coalmine.
The Prime Minister
The reason why we have been able to get considerable success at
COP is because the whole world can see that we are moving beyond
coal and the pace at which we have done it.
(Cambridge) (Lab)
The review commissioned by the Treasury and carried out by
Professor Dasgupta of the University of Cambridge highlighted the
importance of nature-based solutions to the tackling of
environmental challenges. Will the Prime Minister tell us what
the UK Government did at COP26 to pursue those conclusions and
whether they will be pursued at the COP15 biodiversity talks?
The Prime Minister
I am grateful to Professor Dasgupta. At COP26 we had not only an
immense agreement on forests, which are vital habitats for untold
manner of wildlife, but a negotiation with our Chinese partners
that will continue through till their Kunming biodiversity
summit. COP26 achieved an integration of high climate science
with nature. It is the first time that has happened.
(Carmarthen East and
Dinefwr) (Ind)
A potential barrier to the accelerated move towards 100% zero
emission vehicles that the Prime Minister mentioned in his
statement is grid capacity, particularly in rural areas such as
Carmarthenshire. What are the British Government doing to ensure
that the grid will be resilient enough to meet expected
demand?
The Prime Minister
One of the most important things is to ensure that we have enough
baseload electricity, which is why we are investing in nuclear as
well.
(Kingston upon Hull North)
(Lab)
In order to meet our commitments on net zero, the Humber energy
estuary will play a vital role. So I am at a bit of a loss to
understand why, in all the briefings over the weekend about the
integrated rail review, we in the Humber will get nothing in
terms of greener, faster connectivity. There will be no
coast-to-coast Northern Powerhouse Rail, despite what the Prime
Minister has promised in the past, and no benefit from HS2
to the east of Leeds. So, Prime Minister, I just wondered whether
you could comment on the fact that the Humber is not getting
much—
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
Order. The right hon. Lady must not say, “So, Prime Minister”.
She must ask whether the right hon. Gentleman can comment.
I understand and I apologise.
The Prime Minister
I congratulate the Humber and the whole region on what they are
doing in green technology and carbon capture and storage. We will
ensure that this country builds on their lead with clean, green
technology around the whole country.
(Aberdeen South) (SNP)
In the run-up to COP, the Prime Minister spoke about Kermit the
Frog. On the first day of COP, he spoke about cows belching
before disappearing up a closie for the next two weeks, instead
focusing his time on trying to cover up Conservative party
corruption. So can I ask the Prime Minister: when the world
needed climate leadership, does he believe that he was a help or
a hindrance?
The Prime Minister
As I say, the Opposition have struggled all afternoon with the
appalling fact that COP26 has been a success. In all humility,
they should recognise that, congratulate the negotiators and
thank all the countries of the UN that came together to do
something very difficult and very remarkable. I am grateful to
all the parties involved.
(Cardiff North) (Lab)
I have been at many COPs and each one agrees on more ambition,
but we are yet to see the action that is needed. The world is
currently on track for 2.4°—a death sentence for millions and
devastation for the planet. How can we believe that this Prime
Minister will take the action needed when this Government
continue to use loopholes to fund fossil fuel projects overseas,
locking communities into that fossil-fuel era for decades?
The Prime Minister
I cannot believe that the hon. Member has been at that many COPs
because no previous COP has agreed on anything about coal, or
about cars, or about trees. It has not agreed anything like the
solid granular commitments that the countries of the world made,
including no new support for overseas coal-fired power stations.
They did it because this Government are leading the way in
cutting support for hydrocarbons overseas and they could see it
plain as a pikestaff.
(Glasgow Central)
(SNP)
Glasgow is a proud host of COP. I thank my constituents, Glasgow
businesses and COP volunteers who made the world so welcome. To
all our new friends, Scotland says, “Haste ye back”. Will the
Prime Minister act to support and incentivise the investment in
innovative start-ups such as Katrick Technologies in my
constituency, which is growing in developing world-leading green
energy technology in Glasgow?
The Prime Minister
I have seen some wonderful new technologies being developed by
people and businesses in Glasgow. Where it is useful and
appropriate for us to give support, we will.
(Leeds North West)
(Lab/Co-op)
I was at COP representing the Inter-Parliamentary Union as the
global co-rapporteur for COP26. The global Parliaments delivered
a very strong document. While I was there, I met the Speaker of
the Tuvalu Parliament, Samuelu Teo, who told me that donor
countries had provided enough finance for them to build a
seawall, but the consultants from the donor countries could not
agree on how to build the seawall. This is one of the really
difficult issues—we promise but we cannot deliver. Will we
deliver the adaptation measures that small and developing states
need so that they do not go under the ocean?
The Prime Minister
The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point. The next Egyptian
presidency of COP will focus on adaptation measures and what we
all need to do to support them.
(Westminster North) (Lab)
The Glasgow climate pact included a request that countries return
next year with stronger targets for 2030, yet within hours the
Australian Government had issued a statement saying that they
were not intending to strengthen their target. What will the
Government do over the remainder of the COP presidency to ensure
that countries such as Australia that do not meet their NDC
commitments are encouraged to raise their standards and ensure
that they deliver for the world?
The Prime Minister
Australia did make a commitment to net zero. Electorates and
consumers around the world are now going to hold Governments to
account for the promises that they have made.
(Lewisham East) (Lab)
When we consider energy efficiency, the UK has some of the
draughtiest homes in Europe. A national retrofit programme would
not only drive down emissions, but create thousands of jobs for
people around our country and save families £400 on their annual
energy bills, so will the Prime Minister tell us why he scrapped
his green homes grant?
The Prime Minister
We are committed to retrofitting homes around the whole UK. As I
said earlier, the housing stock is very various, so we need
different approaches in different places. We are supporting
households across the country to go green and thereby to save on
their fuel bills as well. That is the Government’s approach.
(North Down) (Alliance)
Rather than self-congratulations today, surely the time to judge
the historical significance of the Glasgow COP will be in 2050.
Given that climate change is a truly global issue, does the Prime
Minister recognise that one of its impacts will be more migration
of peoples around the world, and, sadly, more conflicts in many
places around the world? In that context, surely the UK should be
doing more to lead on international aid and to have a more
progressive asylum policy at home.
The Prime Minister
I think the whole House will agree that 2050 is frankly far too
late. That is why we are making the commitments that we have made
now. The way to avert crisis in the next decade is to make the
changes that we are making now. On the hon. Gentleman’s point
about climate finance, I simply repeat what I said earlier: I
really think that Opposition Members should look at what the UK
is spending, as it sets an example and benchmark for the rest of
the world to follow.
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