Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government who will represent the United
Kingdom at the COP 27 conference in Egypt.
The Minister of State, Cabinet Office () (Con)
My Lords, the UK will have a strong delegation at COP 27,
including the Foreign Secretary and several other Ministers, who
will engage with international counterparts on the transition to
net zero and climate resilience. MP was reappointed COP
president on 25 October, leading the UK’s contribution to the
successful implementation of the historic Glasgow climate pact.
We also expect a significant presence on the part of civil
society and business, building on their participation in Glasgow
last year.
(Lab)
My Lords, I welcome the Answer from the Minister that the Foreign
Secretary and other senior Ministers will be attending,
particularly in the light of the comments made yesterday by the
Secretary-General of the United Nations about how important it is
that we keep climate change in our sights. Can the Minister
comment on one further thing? Apparently, according to the media,
the previous Government said that they did not want His Majesty
King Charles to attend COP. Can she make it clear that if the
King wants to attend, he will be welcome to do so?
(Con)
My Lords, I should start by saying that His Majesty is globally
recognised for his foresight and leadership on climate and
sustainability over five decades—in fact, well before these
issues became mainstream. However, the Government do not comment
on communications and advice between our Prime Minister and the
monarch.
(Con)
My Lords, that is entirely understandable, and one would not
expect my noble friend to say anything else. Nevertheless, I
think it is a widely held view in this country that His Majesty
would give great extra prestige to this conference merely by his
presence. If that message could be taken on board and
communicated to the right quarters, I am sure a service would be
done, not just to the nation but to the world.
(Con)
I thank my noble friend for his message. I know that His Majesty
is also looking to arrange a global event in advance of COP to
talk to some of the key people involved. However, as I said, I
cannot comment on communication and advice between him and the
Prime Minister or the Government—that remains confidential.
(LD)
My Lords, the ban on King Charles attending the conference
imposed by the previous incumbent of No. 10 is, quite frankly,
churlish and rather unseemly. The US climate envoy, John Kerry,
himself—the outgoing COP 26
president—and even the Daily Telegraph believe he should go. The
Egyptian Government have renewed their invitation to the King.
Will the Minister urge the Prime Minister to lift the ban?
(Con)
Noble Lords will know that this is a matter for His Majesty.
(CB)
My Lords, I add my voice to agreeing that the King should be
going, but to build on what the noble Lord, , said, yesterday, António
Guterres said that this was the catastrophe and that all other
catastrophes we are living through will only get worse. Why have
the Government downgraded Alok Sharma’s post from the Cabinet,
and can the Minister assure the House that a new Cabinet post
will be created specifically to look at the climate crisis?
(Con)
It is the case that is no longer a Minister nor in
the Cabinet. However, the Prime Minister has appointed him as COP
president, and that provides continuity and retains his expertise
in this important role. I have been struck by his tireless work
over the past year, and he is always particularly focused on
implementation and the international perspective, as well as
other issues. The thing is to get COP 27 done in a brilliant way
in Sharm el-Sheikh from 6 to 18 November 2022. I cannot comment
on appointments by the Prime Minister.
(Lab)
My Lords, should we not get our own house in order to earn the
respect of all the other countries that will be at COP 27? Just
as an example, we already have a commitment to have 30% of land
for nature by 2030. So far, the statistics are that we have only
3%, so we have a long way to go before we can hold our heads up
at COP 27 and earn the respect globally that we deserve.
(Con)
I understand from my noble friend that we lead the campaign for
30/30.
(Con)
My Lords, I welcome my noble friend’s response to the question of
the noble Baroness, Lady Boycott, but I encourage her to have
discussions between our Ministers and other Ministers at COP 27
on getting businesses to help the less developed countries be
able to respond better by investing in them, and countries
helping to support that through business. Will my noble friend
comment on that?
(Con)
I am very glad my noble friend raised that, because the Glasgow
climate pact emphasised the importance of collaboration across
sectors in all parts of society to deliver on climate change, and
business plays an important part. I remember from my experience
of net-zero plans when I was in business, many years ago.
Business can contribute in some of the poorest countries in the
world by helping the transition, reducing carbon and being more
efficient. There is a real win-win there, and what has been
encouraging both at Glasgow and in the prospective agendas for
Sharm el-Sheikh is how businesses are stepping up to the plate in
this important area.
(LD)
My Lords, a few answers ago the Minister said that the attendance
of the King at COP 27 was a matter for the King. Was that an
answer to my noble friend Lady Sheehan, who asked whether the new
Government have lifted the ban on King Charles III attending the
conference in Egypt? A quick yes or no would suffice.
(Con)
There is no ban. This is a matter for the palace, and I really
cannot be drawn on communication between the Government and the
monarch. This is a matter for them, but I reiterate that we are
very fortunate that our King is so globally identified with
nature and tackling climate change.
(Con)
Can my noble friend help me? Can we now expect that the Cabinet
committee chaired by the Prime Minister will continue, that the
Prime Minister will chair it and that it will be regular in
dealing with climate change, which, after all, is the biggest
material threat to ourselves and the world that exists?
(Con)
I know all that my noble friend has done to help on climate
change and his great work chairing the Climate Change Committee.
As for the Cabinet committees for the new Government, we will
have to wait to find our exactly what they look like.
(Lab)
My Lords, I bring the Minister back to her answer to my noble
friend, who asked about the 30/30 campaign. The Minister said
that we lead the campaign on this; it is all very well leading
campaigns, but after 12 years in government, we have not had
actually made much progress. We are talking about 3% of land
rather than 30%. With COP 27 pending, could she not say a little
more about the implementation? Having led the campaign with such
vigour—but obviously not great response—when will we get to the
30% required by the campaign?
(Con)
On the 30%, there is obviously lots to do. I believe that 100
countries have now signed up. We have been very good at leading
other countries and trying to get them involved in these matters.
Obviously, it is work in progress. The UK is recognised as a
global leader on many aspects of climate change. Our emissions
reduced by 47% since 1990, and we have a stretching NDC, but,
perhaps most of all, we are the first nation to legislate for net
zero by 2050.
(Con)
Does my noble friend accept that COP 27 is unlikely to be a
success as long as India and China go on building coal-fired
power stations and increasing the amount of CO2 in the
atmosphere, whatever we do in this country?
(Con)
My noble friend is right that carbon and weather do not respect
borders, so it is very important that all countries across the
world look at these things. I remember doing work with the
Indians on climate change in my business days and, in some areas,
they do a lot of very good things, but the energy transition is
one of the challenges that all countries face and is something
that can be discussed constructively at COP 27.
