(Doncaster North)
(Lab):...I know I am shadowing the Department that the right hon.
Gentleman would quite like to run, so perhaps that announcement
will be forthcoming in the future. I am mildly encouraged by what
he says on Australia.
Let me take two other issues where he can show leadership: the
Cumbria coalmine, and the Cambo oilfield,
which are the equivalent of 18 coal-fired power stations running
for a year. He knows that we need to get others to phase out
coal, and that we need to phase out fossil fuels. Surely the
right way to send a proper signal to the rest of the world ahead
of COP27, is for the whole Government to start practising what he
is effectively preaching, and put a stop to Cambo and
Cumbria.
The COP26 President (): We have previously had
discussions at the Dispatch Box on both Cambo and
Cumbria, and the right hon. Gentleman will know that they are
being looked at by independent regulators and that pronouncements
will be coming forward. We have significantly reduced the amount
of coal in our electricity mix. Indeed, there will be no more
coal in the UK electricity mix from 2024.
(Norwich South) (Lab): We
know the oil of Cambo and
the coal of Cumbria have to stay in the ground if we are to keep
temperature rises at below 2.4°C. I say 2.4°C because that is the
new reality after this year’s COP26. Will the COP President
commit to stopping Cambo and
the new coalmine in Cumbria, and end the climate hypocrisy that
so undermined his presidency at COP26?
: I responded to the right
hon. Member for Doncaster North () earlier on the issue
of Cambo and
Cumbria. I would just say to the hon. Gentleman, more generally,
that I recognise we need to work very hard during our presidency
year to ensure that commitments by all countries are turned into
action. That is what we will be doing.
