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Joe Morris's Speeches In Parliament Related to Climate

We've found 12 Parliamentary debates in which Joe Morris has spoken about climate-related matters.

Here are the relevant sections of their speeches.

• 15 Sep 2026: Saudi East-West Oil Pipeline

  13:30

  May I echo the comments of the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) about heating oil, and express my concern for rural communities in my constituency? Does this not demonstrate the urgency of?as the Minister said?moving away from unstable oil from unstable parts of the world, and the need to double down on domestic production of renewables, not just to generate energy, but to increase our renewables production capacity? Will the Minister join me on a visit to Humshaugh Net Zero to see community energy projects in my constituency that already have widespread public support and are doing more to generate energy in Northumberland?

  [Source]

• 7 Jul 2026: Community-owned Renewable Energy

  12. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of community-owned renewable energy on energy security.

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• 10 Feb 2026: Local Power Plan

  12:14

  I thank the Secretary of State for his announcement. Community energy is incredibly powerful in rural Britain, particularly in the village of Humshaugh, where Humshaugh Net Zero set up the community-owned solar farm. I restate my invitation to the Secretary of State to join me on a visit to Humshaugh community solar farm, and thank him once again for the statement.

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• 25 Nov 2025: COP30

  15:11

  I commend the Secretary of State for his ongoing commitment to fighting the scourge of climate change in the face of rising denialism. I was really pleased to hear him leave the door open to future contributions to the TFFF. Will he spell out the circumstances in which they might come to reassure me and my constituents, who are deeply concerned that that did not come forward at this COP?

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• 18 Nov 2025: UNESCO: 80th Anniversary

  10:11

  I want to speak about the contribution of Hexham and the broader north-east to UNESCO. We have a proud industrial heritage in the north-east, and I am proud to have the birthplace of George Stephenson in my constituency. At a recent panel event in Wylam, I was asked whether George Stephenson was to blame for the climate catastrophe, which was a challenging question to be asked at a community event, and slightly deeper than I had planned on going.

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  We need significantly more than 80 years to unearth all the secrets that Hadrian’s wall yet has. I have been deeply concerned to read about some of the damage that climate change is doing to potential unfound objects at Vindolanda, where certain changes in the soil acidity may be wreaking havoc on things that we do not yet understand. Although its largest structure might be in my hon. Friend’s constituency, I think that mine contains the largest contiguous body of Hadrian’s wall—just to do a little bit of neighbourly point scoring.

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• 17 Jul 2025: Strategy for Elections

  For 14 years, young people in my constituency were frustrated by politicians who simply did not listen to their concerns on affordable housing, on the climate crisis or on good local jobs. Does the Minister agree that listening to young people and engaging them in the process is a key first step in rebuilding some of the damage done to our democracy over the 14 years of incompetence we saw from the Tories?

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• 14 Jul 2025: State of Climate and Nature

  16:31

  I was privileged to host a net zero roundtable in my constituency involving many people from a wide variety of backgrounds, who were all appalled to see net zero becoming a political football and part of an ongoing culture war on the right. Will the Secretary of State join me in recognising the important work of organisations such as Humshaugh Net Zero and the North Tyne climate action group in bringing together widespread support for net zero, bringing it into our communities and embedding it across the body politic?

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• 18 Jun 2025: Future of the Gas Grid

  I, too, commend the Government’s commitment to clean power and our clean energy mission. I will speak about not industry but the impact of the gas grid on rural communities, because many of my constituents do not have the luxury of being connected to the gas grid. Many of them rely on other means of heating their homes, which are subject to price fluctuations and greater disruption, and then shut them out of opportunities. Before I turn to the impact on rural communities, however, I put on record my support for reaching net zero, decarbonising our economy and decarbonising our energy system; I look back at the relatively halcyon days when it was not politically controversial to say that, and hope at some point that we can get back to that.

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• 30 Apr 2025: Global Deforestation

  10:09

  Deforestation does not simply cut down trees: it cuts off food chains, collapses ecosystems and drives animals from their homes. It is, as the right hon. Member for Herne Bay and Sandwich (Sir Roger Gale) said, a global crisis that will have impacts that reverberate down the generations. It is a devastating loss to our planet that up to 15 billion trees are cut down every year right around the world, and it does not only destroy the homes of vital species. I put on the record my thanks to Northumberland College at Kirkley Hall zoo, which kindly hosted me after my election to talk about its great work in preserving biodiversity. Deforestation is contributing hugely to the deeply concerning examples of climate change that we are seeing.

  We need to recognise that we cannot fight climate change simply by sacrificing biodiversity. In fact, we need to embrace it. We are stripping away the lungs of our planet and the homes of irreplaceable wildlife, sacrificing the Amazon and other great forests at the altar of industrial agriculture, as land is carved out for cattle and soy at the expense of our planet’s future.

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• 7 Apr 2025: Road Maintenance

  20:39

  There are a few more points that I hope the Minister will address when she responds to the debate. I have recently met quite a few local farmers who have told me that they want electric vehicle charging points in their farm shop car parks, but are finding it difficult to obtain grants from the Department for Transport. They are being told that these are only available for service stations, but there are not a huge number of service stations on the A69. Putting charging points in farm shop car parks would be a great way of boosting our net zero credentials and ensuring that more people throughout Northumberland access farm shops and put more money into the local rural economy.

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• 14 Jan 2025: Community Energy (Review)

  14:09

  The country is on a vital mission to achieve net zero and to combat the immediate and very real threat of climate change. It is a mission that we can and must achieve. The British people deserve lower costs and secure power, with good jobs and a Government that protect them from the long-term threats posed by climate change. I am therefore glad the Government have committed to a clean power mission by 2030 that will achieve energy security, protect bill payers, create good jobs and help to protect future generations from the cost of climate breakdown.

  To ensure that this country is on the right path to becoming a clean energy superpower, it is essential that we unlock the full extent of renewable energy and conduct a necessary review of the contribution of community energy to the 2030 clean power mission. For decades, energy has been produced and, crucially, owned far away from this country. Many constituents pay their energy bills to a company based 600 miles and an ocean away. We know our energy system is broken, but for too long it has been too distant to fix. The Labour Government will do things differently.

  Community energy offers a crucial opportunity of agency and empowerment within local communities to develop practical and long-term energy solutions. It will not only deliver key elements that are essential for reaching our net zero targets, but encourage local generation at household and community level, reducing the need for electricity to be imported into communities. It is necessary for individual houses to change their energy usage to make our net zero targets achievable.

  There are opportunities for community-owned power throughout the country. Indeed, we know what can happen when communities as a whole come together. We see the mutual support and care that constituents hold for each other. When a community has been left behind time and again, as is the case with many in the north-east, we know how to pull together. Community energy and engagement are essential for achieving the net zero transition. Individual households throughout the country can engage. Through both centralised generation and storage, houses can be powered locally, reducing demand for imports from the distribution network and cutting energy bills.

  As a leader in offshore wind power and research, the north-east is already a frontrunner in energy production, supporting more than 5 GW of offshore production, with a further 72 GW of potential production. My region can display leadership not only in production, but through infrastructure, and we can supply more than 130 GW of offshore power through the north-east local supply chain across all four of our nations. Supporting the green energy transition can start in the north-east. Not only is the region strongly placed to deliver offshore wind in the North sea, but we are in a strong position to install and maintain the growing pipeline of heat network projects that would support the supply chain in the north-east and foster highly skilled jobs that are vital to the region and necessary in ensuring that young people in the north-east can remain there and secure high-paying work.

  It is essential that the resources the country has at its disposal are properly recognised. Through community engagement and energy, effective solutions can be tailored specifically to regions and localities. Community-owned energy projects are, however, not new. They already exist and thrive across the country, thanks to the innovation and drive of individuals. In that regard, I want to acknowledge and highlight the phenomenal work of Humshaugh Net Zero, its founder Herbie Newell, and David Still. I thank them for their support and their commitment to delivering net zero emissions by 2030. One of my first meetings as Hexham’s MP was in the room above the Crown Inn in Humshaugh to talk about net zero, which I highly recommend to the Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks) if he comes up to visit.

  Humshaugh Net Zero has already installed a number of low-carbon technologies, including solar, heat pumps, battery storage, electric vehicles and biomass. Its efforts to launch, this year, one of the first community-based solar farms in the north-east captures my constituents’ community spirit and drive. Its aim is to successfully deliver half of the parish’s electricity demand. I believe that the work of Humshaugh Net Zero would be of valuable interest to a review of community energy, informing how to unlock community energy at scale and how to support the development of other projects throughout the region and the country. It provides a strong example of community engagement and a model for how that can be achieved.

  Through conducting a review, solutions can be considered to tackle the two major challenges for community energy projects: first, ensuring that funding is available on competitive terms; and, secondly, ensuring that there is support for electricity to be sold to the community to maximise project revenue. Launching this vital review into community energy will support our mission to achieve net zero emissions by 2030.

  I am proud that throughout the Hexham constituency, local residents are already engaging in efforts to reduce their emissions and committing to green energy to achieve that 2030 mission. In Prudhoe, the Friends of Eastwoods Park and the Miners Lamp Cafe have introduced solar panels and battery storage. This has received vital funding from Northern Powergrid, and the drive of local residents has made sure that the building can still be heated, meals can be cooked and ingredients can be preserved through the local green energy supply. The Stocksfield community association has, similarly, transformed the local community centre into a crisis centre. By achieving a self-sufficient energy source, the community centre can operate as a support service for local residents during emergencies. Not only is this a valuable asset to the local community, but it offers a cost-effective solution. As Prudhoe, Humshaugh and Stocksfield represent, community energy provides more than just energy; it fosters community collaboration and cohesion.

  It is clear that we need to take community power seriously. Community energy is integral to our clean power mission. It is integral to ensuring that cheap and affordable power is accessible to local residents across the country, and it is essential for ensuring that this country utilises the valuable resources at our disposal. Conducting a review of the contribution of community energy to the 2030 clean power mission is vital for identifying challenges, threats and necessary solutions. I look forward to a future where my home and the homes of my constituents can be powered by green energy built and generated in the north-east.

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• 19 Nov 2024: Tourism: Northumberland

  16:49

  To preserve the rich history of Hexham and Northumberland we need to protect our heritage. This month, Historic England released its heritage at risk register that outlines historic sites in England at risk of decay and damage threatening their survival. The register revealed that 262 of the 4,891 entries at risk are in the north-east. My constituency has a concerning number of sites under threat. They include the Corbridge Roman site, multiple sections of Hadrian’s wall, the church of St Cuthbert in Haydon Bridge and the Kershope castle at Kielder. Vindolanda is further threatened by the possible risk of climate change. Those Roman ruins are preserved in waterlogged environments, but climate change could affect the chemical make-up of the soil and damage artefacts currently preserved in the ground.

  The work of Historic England and that of organisations such as the Vindolanda Trust to preserve our history is commendable. Improving infrastructure, investing in the preservation of those historic buildings and places, and restricting climate change, in collaboration with local and national organisations, will boost the regional economy, generate more job opportunities and preserve Northumberland’s rich history. I am sure the Minister will agree that England is a country with a rich historical tapestry, as is the UK, but we cannot overlook Northumberland’s contribution. Through preservation and protection of central heritage sites, we can lead the way for domestic and international tourism to flourish.

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See all Parliamentary Speeches Mentioning Climate