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John Glen's Speeches In Parliament Related to Climate

We've found 32 Parliamentary debates in which John Glen has spoken about climate-related matters.

Here are the relevant sections of their speeches.

• 2 Jul 2026: Business of the House

  In Salisbury, we welcome zero emission buses, and the previous Conservative Administration worked with the ZEBRA—zero emission bus regional area—scheme to deliver 30 new buses. Last week, when I met Ed Wills, the new managing director of Salisbury Reds, we discussed a number of matters, including acoustic measures to mitigate the noise from those buses, but the challenge is that Chinese-manufactured buses are cheaper, and offer greater battery range. The Government need to make a decision about the next round of the ZEBRA scheme. Could the Leader of the House ensure that we have a statement on this, so that local authorities around the country, including those in Wiltshire, can determine the best way to expand provision?

  [Source]

• 15 Jan 2026: Food Inflation

  Animal welfare is an important issue for many in the Chamber and across the House. If we look at how farming works, we see that there is actually a lower density of poultry and beef, which leads to different costs for producing some of those things. We want to have it all, including the extended producer responsibility—a whole life-cycle responsibility for packaging. When we take all these things together, simultaneously, in a five-year period of global disruption, the outcome is very worrying. It would be remiss not to mention the impact of climate change on crops such as coffee, cocoa and palm oil.

  [Source]

• 4 Dec 2024: Farming and Inheritance Tax

  16:30

  I have had some dealings in the past with the farming Minister, the hon. Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner), and I genuinely have a great deal of respect for him—I do not want to embarrass him by saying anything more. He has a large number of issues to deal with, and I think all of us in this House want to see some clarity around the land use framework, and how we reconcile the question of where we build more homes with the challenges of renewable energy. However, we have to keep in focus the core function of our farmers, which is to produce food. I recognise the point made in an intervention earlier, and I am not suggesting that the Government are going to say, “We are going to have solar farms everywhere,” but we do need to have a coherent farming policy as a whole and a land use strategy that people understand.

  [Source]

• 25 Apr 2024: Topical Questions

  09:55

  I think the hon. Lady is referring to the second headquarters of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in Aberdeen, which I visited just before Christmas. I think that there was a misunderstanding about the numbers that were quoted in the paper. Some 18,283 jobs have moved out of London as a consequence of the places for growth programme. I will examine the number that have moved to Scotland, and write to her to clarify the Government’s position.

  [Source]

• 12 Dec 2023: Places for Growth Update

  Places for Growth is delivering on the Government’s commitment to relocate 22,000 roles from London and to have 50% of UK-based senior civil service roles based outside London by 2030. In addition to publishing the latest statistics, today I have announced I am bringing forward the delivery timeframe to relocate 22,000 roles from 2030 to 2027. This recognises the huge progress that has been made to date on this initiative; since 2020 the Places for Growth programme has worked with Government Departments to relocate more than 16,000 roles. This announcement will also launch the headquarter locations of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in Greater Manchester, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in Aberdeen in addition to Salford and the Department for Business and Trade in Darlington, as well as establishing Wrexham as a key location benefiting from additional roles from the Ministry of Justice and an increase in headcount from the Department for Work and Pensions.

  [Source]

• 21 Mar 2023: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

  18:49

  On growth—the focus of the Budget—there were those who said that we would fall into recession in 2023, but last week the OBR said that we will not enter a recession this year. Instead, after this year, the UK economy will grow in every single year of the forecast period, including by 2.5% in 2025. As we look to the future, we are now rolling out the biggest employment package ever, we are overhauling incentives to get businesses growing, and we are unleashing our green energy sector while supporting families and businesses with bills in the short term. But, contrary to the characterisation in many Opposition speeches today, there is no complacency from this Government. There will be no let-up in our relentless focus on enabling growth.

  [Source]

• 7 Feb 2023: Levelling-up Fund Projects: Impact of Inflation

  The Government are totally committed to meeting our net zero obligations. In the comings weeks, as we prepare for the Budget, the Chancellor will be considering these matters in the decisions he brings to the House. Every economy will have a different set of pressures, but we will do everything we can to address the need to find the conditions for growth, deal with inflation and ensure that we set the economy fair for the future.

  [Source]

• 6 Feb 2023: Charter for Budget Responsibility

  As inflation rose to figures we have not seen in more than 40 years, led primarily by increasing energy prices, we again took action to safeguard the nation by contributing to people’s bills. Nobody in this Government would argue that that is not money well spent, but we are also cognisant of the facts. At nearly 100% of GDP, public debt is at its highest level since the early 1960s. It would not be sustainable to continue to borrow at current levels indefinitely. If debt interest spending were a Department, its departmental budget would be second only to the Department of Health and Social Care. Not only does that direct our resources away from vital public services, but for those of us who have paid attention to the economy, it is clearly unsustainable in the long run. It is unsustainable because increasing debt leaves us more vulnerable to changing interest rates and inflation. For every percentage point increase in interest rates, the annual spending on debt will increase by £18.2 billion. That is money we could be using to invest in schools or hospitals and in the transition to net zero.

  [Source]

• 1 Nov 2022: UK Infrastructure Bank Bill [Lords]

  15:41

  The UK Infrastructure Bank Bill will finalise the bank’s set-up and ensure that it is a long-lasting, enduring institution. The Bill will set out its objectives to tackle climate change and support regional and local economic growth in legislation, as well as giving the bank a full range of spending and lending powers, so that it can benefit communities across the country and help the UK achieve its net zero goals. The bank is already having an impact. Since summer 2021, when the UK Infrastructure Bank became operational, 10 deals worth close to £1.1 billion have been done, including providing financing for a new £500 million fund that could double the amount of subsidy-free solar power in the UK.

  When establishing the bank, we were cognisant of three specific recommendations from the NIC. First, that there would be governance to safeguard the operational independence of the bank. We will come on to it later, but one of the key purposes of the Bill is to protect exactly that. It will make it impossible for the Government to simply dissolve or sell the bank without further legislation. We will also be unable to alter its core objectives on climate change and regional and local economic growth.

  Secondly, the bank should provide finance to economic infrastructure in cases of market and co-ordination failures, catalysing innovation. We all know that infra- structure projects take a long time and cost a lot of money, and I want to see more private investment in such projects. Often, however, the private sector does not provide enough finance to emerging innovative technologies that have a higher risk profile—for example, net zero technologies or those that are in areas of the UK that do not historically get financing.

  [Source]

  15:49

  With regard to the climate change objectives, significant public and private investment will be needed to achieve the UK’s infrastructure policy goals, and low-carbon investment will need to be significantly scaled up to deliver net zero. That is highlighted by the fact that the UK’s core infrastructure—power, heat and transport networks—account for more than two thirds of UK emissions. Without the bank, the private sector is likely to focus its investment on lower-risk technologies and sectors, and we will not achieve regional and local economic growth without better infrastructure in every region of the country.

  [Source]

  15:51

  Although the bank is still in its infancy, it is already taking a leading role in the clean infrastructure market. Over time, we expect the bank to catalyse new markets of infrastructure by crowding in private capital to help meet our climate change ambitions and level up across the UK. In much the same way that the EIB helped to catalyse the offshore wind market, where the UK is now a global leader, the UKIB will help to catalyse the infrastructure markets and technologies of the future.

  [Source]

• 10 Jan 2022: Charter for Budget Responsibility and Welfare Cap

  21:50

  I want to turn now to some of the substantive points made in the debate. I do not recognise the characterisation by my right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (John Redwood) of this debate as a “Maastricht tribute debate”, but I do recognise his enthusiasm for growth and his desire to target growth. That is obviously a critical element of the Government’s strategy. It is absolutely clear that we need to focus on greater productivity and it is important that, as set out in our plan for growth, with a focus on skills, infrastructure and innovation, we will deliver the key priorities of levelling up and net zero. I do not think that we disagree about the importance of economic growth and productivity, but because of the actions that we took to support our economy, we have been more successful than previously feared in preventing the long-term economic damage of covid. In its latest forecast, the OBR revised down its scarring assumption, from 3% to 2%.

  [Source]

• 14 Dec 2021: Co-operatives and Mutual Societies

  10:48

  I want to spend a moment on building societies, because they are key to unlocking opportunity and driving positive change across the country. For example, in mortgages, Yorkshire and Skipton building societies are among the first institutions to bring back a 95% loan, when there was a problem in the spring, and 95% loan to value mortgages after the lockdown. That obviously brings first-time buyers on to the housing ladder. In addition, the sector is pioneering new products that will decarbonise the UK housing stock. For instance, Nationwide offers a green additional borrowing mortgage, and the Leeds Building Society has launched two new mortgages for the most energy-efficient homes.

  [Source]

• 14 Dec 2021: Greenwashing in Finance

  16:14

  Let me start with a simple statement of fact: the Government have high ambition to transform the UK financial sector and align it with net zero. We are taking bold action to deliver on that. As my hon. Friend mentioned, we launched two record-breaking green gilts this year in September and October, and announced new sustainability disclosure requirements for businesses across the economy to report their impact on the planet. We are starting to see real results. London was ranked the leading hub globally for green finance this year in a leading index run by Z/Yen, overtaking Amsterdam. I do not want to be complacent, but I think we have made significant progress already, specifically on green finance.

  [Source]

  15:55

  As my hon. Friend the Member for Thirsk and Malton mentioned, at COP26 the Chancellor announced that the UK would go further and become the world’s first net zero-aligned financial centre. That is easier said than done. In fact, delivering this will require the Government and private sector to work hand in glove—I welcome the UK private sector’s leadership on this. At COP26, we heard that organisations with $130 trillion of assets globally have now made a net zero commitment. These are big numbers with big implications; it is critical that the claims that firms make about their green performance are credible and backed up with real action.

  The Treasury Committee report on decarbonisation and green finance, published in June, was also clear that

  “‘greenwashing’ is detrimental to good consumer outcomes and to the achievement of... net zero”.

  Our second area of action as a Government has been mainstreaming climate change in the UK’s financial regulation. In March, the Chancellor set out new remit letters to the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Committee, which included climate change for the first time. In November, the FCA published its new environmental, social and governance strategy, and the themes of trust and transparency are core to the FCA’s plans in this area. I am also aware that market participants are increasingly reliant on third-party ESG data and rating services to make decisions, which is why the Government are considering bringing these firms into the scope of FCA regulation and will report back next year.

  I also want to address transition plans. Industry leadership on climate change, particularly through net zero commitments, has been impressive, but commitments need to become concrete action. That is why the Chancellor announced at COP26 that the UK would move towards making the publication of transition plans mandatory in the next 12 months. A transition plan should set out an organisation’s high-level carbon targets, its interim milestones and, most importantly, the actionable steps it plans to take. That will improve transparency around how those headline commitments translate into action.

  My hon. Friend the Member for Thirsk and Malton asked me a number of questions about which businesses will have to report, when those requirements will come into force and how reporting will help us reach net zero, and I will take those in turn. We will ensure that any burden on business is proportionate and provides useful information for investors’ decision making. Exact details of organisations and products in scope will be determined by the relevant regulators and Government Departments following consultation. Anticipated timings are set out in the road map that we published in October.

  In terms of the impact of reporting on the UK getting to net zero, high-quality corporate sustainability reporting is clearly foundational to investors having the information that they need to make well-informed investment decisions. Any action to align capital investment with the transition to net zero is contingent on financial markets having access to the right and relevant information, and identifying which companies are successfully managing their climate-related risks and opportunities. Fixing that information gap is the first phase of the UK’s approach, and getting market participants to act on the information is the second phase, which will ensure that financial flows across the economy shift to align with that net zero commitment. There has been a concerted attempt across Government to ensure that we are very clear about what that journey needs to look like, and more will flow from the legislation next year. I hope that addresses my hon. Friend’s points.

  [Source]

• 9 Dec 2021: Financial Services: UK Economy

  15:01

  My hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Sir Robert Neill) put a stark statistic before us when he said that more than 36% of his constituents worked in financial services and the broader legal and professional services sector. It is a critical sector for our economy. The financial services sector also has a crucial role to play in our response to climate change. The ambition is clear: we want the UK to be the best place in the world for green and sustainable investment. As a Government we have taken bold action in this area to transform the UK financial sector. That has involved introducing new economy-wide sustainability disclosure requirements for businesses, and the kick-starting of a green financing programme with two record-breaking sovereign green bonds: one for around £10 billion on 21 September and a further £6 billion on 21 October, achieving a “greenium”—a premium on what we would have gained from a non-green bond—of around 2.5 base points. We will not be complacent about this. We also need global action on green finance, and the Chancellor recently hosted the COP26 finance day, which saw financial firms with assets of over £130 trillion committing to net zero.

  [Source]

• 1 Dec 2021: Draft Financial Services Act 2021 (Prudential Regulation of Credit Institutions and Investment Firms) (Consequential Amendments and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2021

  14:44

  The right hon. Gentleman’s second point related to the point made yesterday in the other place with respect to the “have regard to” amendments to the FS Act. Obviously, our amendment to include a requirement to have regard to the net zero carbon target will apply after 1 January 2022. That means that the PRA does not need to have regard to climate change considerations in making the Basel III rules, nor the FCA in making the IFPR rules for 1 January 2022. That was done to ensure that there was no delay in implementing the Basel III reforms and the IFPR, but it will be for the regulators to determine going forward how the new duty will operate in practice. The Government anticipate that it should function in much the same way as other obligations during the PRA’s implementation of Basel III standards, such as the need to have regard to the ability of firms to continue to provide finance to business and consumers in the United Kingdom. The key point is that, subsequent to the implementation agreed in the Act, they will have an ongoing obligation to have regard to these matters.

  [Source]

• 19 Oct 2021: Fossil Fuel Industry: Regulation of Investments

  Let me begin by stating the obvious: the Government take their responsibility to tackle climate change extremely seriously. That is why in June 2019 the UK became the first major economy to legislate to end our net contribution to climate change by 2050, increasing the ambition of existing commitments under the Climate Change Act 2008, which was introduced by the Labour Government in that year. Just today, we published our net zero strategy, outlining measures to transition to a green and sustainable future.

  The hon. Lady is right to highlight the crucial role of finance and investment in addressing the challenge of climate change. I am pleased to reassure her that we are implementing a credible, practical plan to align that investment to climate change goals, with multiple strands of activity, including engagement with the oil and gas industry, the greening of finance and action on the international stage.

  Our view is that we need actively to engage with and work with fossil fuel companies to get them to reform, and that approach is working. Earlier this year, we agreed the North sea transition deal with the oil and gas industry, to support workers, businesses and the supply chain in preparation for a net zero future by 2050, including the reduction of emissions by 50% by 2030. We also agreed joint Government and oil and gas sector investment of up to £16 billion by 2030 to reduce carbon emissions, with up to £3 billion to replace fossil fuel-based power supplies on oil and gas platforms with renewable energy, up to £3 billion on carbon capture, usage and storage, and up to £10 billion for hydrogen production. Indeed, since 2010 more than £94 billion has been invested in clean energy in the UK.

  [Source]

  The roadmap on sustainable investment sets out details of the new whole-economy sustainability disclosure requirements—the legislative and regulatory changes that will be made to deliver world-leading reporting standards for environmental sustainability. Under these changes, companies and investment products will, for the first time, need to set out the environmental impact of the activities that they finance according to a universal definition of green. At the same time, products must clearly justify any sustainability claims that they make. It is our expectation that firms will use this information to actively engage with investee companies and encourage businesses and shareholders to set, and act on, credible net zero transition plans.

  But I recognise that Government too must take action. Another part of our strategy has therefore been to establish markets to mobilise private capital. That is the thinking behind our green gilt, the first issuance of which last month was the largest ever sovereign green bond issuance, of £10 billion, and was 10 times over-subscribed. It is also part of the rationale for the creation of the UK Infrastructure Bank, which has a specific mandate to help tackle climate change, particularly the transition to net zero by 2050. I was pleased just last week to meet John Flint, the chief executive, who is putting together the team at the UK Infrastructure Bank in Leeds to move forward the investment decisions, and that organisation, as quickly as possible.

  We need to remember that this is also a global problem requiring a global solution, as the hon. Lady acknowledged. That is not an excuse for inaction but rather a simple acknowledgement of the reality. The Government are acting nationally and internationally, and here there are some further reasons for optimism. As a country, we need to be part of a global effort to turn this around, and we are, including as host of next month’s COP26 conference. About 70% of the world’s economy is now covered by net zero targets, up from less than 30% when the UK took on the presidency of COP26. Under the UK’s presidency, all G7 countries committed to put an end to funding fossil fuels and coal power this year. Japan and South Korea have said that they will end public financing for overseas coal-fired power plants, with China then committing to not building any new coal power plants overseas.

  When it comes to transitioning the finance sector, too, we are part of an international effort. In April, the UK played a key role in the launch of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. When the UK assumed the COP presidency in partnership with Italy 18 months ago, $5 trillion of private financial assets were committed to net zero. Now 300 financial institutions across 40 countries, controlling balance sheets of $100 trillion, are co-ordinating their efforts under this alliance.

  [Source]

• 1 Jul 2021: Publication of UK Government Green Financing Framework

  Ahead of this, HM Treasury and the DMO yesterday published the UK Government green financing framework. This document sets out the Government’s ambitious climate and environmental agenda and their vision for enhancing the UK’s leadership as the world’s preeminent green financial centre. The framework also details how the proceeds from the green gilt and retail green savings bonds will finance expenditures to help tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and other environmental challenges, while creating green jobs across the UK.

  Renewable energy

  Climate change adaptation.

  the Carbon Trust has produced a pre-issuance impact report on the UK Government green financing programme, which reviews the Government’s intended allocation of proceeds under the framework and the proposed impact metrics. They found that the allocations “align sensibly” with the Climate Change Committee’s recommended climate targets for the UK (known as its “Sixth Carbon Budget”) and they are “confident that the programme will contribute to achieving net zero by 2050”. This is the first report of its kind among sovereign issuers and provides additional evidence of the coherence of the Government’s green financing programme with its wider environmental agenda.

  [Source]

• 21 Jun 2021: UK’s Financial Services Industry

  21:09

  We expect to consult on detailed policy proposals in the summer, including proposals to delete the share trading obligation and double volume cap, but rest assured, we will aim to deliver a rulebook that is fair, outcomes-based and supports competitiveness, while ensuring that the UK maintains the highest regulatory standards. Undoubtedly, the future of the UK financial services sector is linked to the future of our planet, and that connection is clearer than ever as we prepare to host COP26 in November.

  I mentioned earlier that building a greener industry is a key element of our vision for financial services, and that is why a central focus of the COP26 finance campaign will be to ensure that every professional financial decision takes climate change into account. Furthermore, we believe that financial services have an important part to play in helping us to level up the country by generating jobs and growth, and we are focused on unlocking the hundreds of billions of pounds sitting with UK institutional investors to drive our country forward.

  [Source]

• 26 Apr 2021: Financial Services Bill

  20:51

  Let me start by addressing the right hon. Member for Wolverhampton South East (Mr McFadden). I said to him during the Committee stage that I was always listening. I think that I have proved that to be the case in the way that the Government have responded on the climate change amendment and on “buy now, pay later”. I listened very carefully to the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Stella Creasy) who spoke with characteristic deep knowledge of the sector. It is absolutely clear that we need to get the legislation and the intervention right when it comes to “buy now, pay later”. She rightly asserted the massive growth in that sector and the unfortunate consequences that will certainly befall, and that does befall, a number of consumers. We will work quickly to examine that market and what interventions will meet the need.

  [Source]

• 8 Mar 2021: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

  As many hon. Members have mentioned, the Government continue to take their world-leading environmental commitment seriously. They remain dedicated to meeting climate change and wider environmental targets, including improving the UK’s air quality.

  [Source]

• 13 Jan 2021: Financial Services Bill

  15:54

  I have spoken at length about a number of topics that are not directly addressed in the Bill. I will now address amendments relating to some of the measures that make up the Bill itself. I have already said that the prudential measures contain an accountability framework, and I will begin by addressing a number of amendments that seek to add additional elements to that framework. As I said to the Public Bill Committee, amendments 1 and 2, along with amendments 9 and 12, all add considerations relating to climate change to the accountability framework. They are not necessary, as the Bill grants the Treasury a power to specify further matters relating to the accountability framework at a later date. I can assure Members across the House that the Treasury will carefully consider adding climate change as an issue to which the regulator should have regard, in the future. However, any such addition needs careful consideration and consultation on how it can be best framed. Therefore, the Government cannot support these amendments.

  [Source]

• 3 Dec 2020: Financial Services Bill (Twelfth sitting)

  00:03

  It is clear that this new clause is similar to other amendments. We have discussed the issues in relation to Basel and PRIIPs measures, and new clauses 33 and 34 would mean that they would apply to a Bill as a whole. As I have set out in previous responses, we are committed to meeting international obligations and strongly support the aims of the Paris agreement and the sustainable development goals. That will mean a combined effort across the whole economy, especially with the involvement of financial services. As the Chancellor set out in his statement, they will be at the heart of that effort. We are pursuing world-leading standards, and ahead of COP26 the Prime Minister’s COP26 finance adviser, Mark Carney, will advise the Government on embedding climate considerations into every financial decision.

  These new clauses would require the provision of an assessment of the impact of the Bill, specifically on the UK’s ability to meet its commitments to the Paris agreement and sustainable development goals. We published in June 2019 a voluntary national review, setting out in detail our progress towards those goals, and a comprehensive account of the further action to be taken, and we remain committed to supporting the implementation of those goals. We therefore cannot support these new clauses, as we believe that we are held to account through other mechanisms. That is probably all I need to say. I suggest that the clause may be able to be withdrawn on that basis.

  [Source]

• 24 Nov 2020: Financial Services Bill (Fifth sitting)

  11:12

  Let me say at the outset that the Government are fully committed to reaching our climate change aims both domestically and internationally. We have set our commitment to net zero in legislation. When I was listening to the right hon. Member for Wolverhampton South East discuss the range of interventions and announcements that the Government have made in recent weeks and pivot back to the good work done previously, this underscores the fact that looking at this through a bipartisan lens is probably the most effective way. The aims that we share should be supported by sectors across the economy, not least financial services, as the Chancellor set out in his recent statement to the House.

  Amendment 20 would insert the net zero target into the FCA’s accountability framework for the implementation of the investment firms prudential regime. Amendment 39 is similar, as it would insert an additional consideration into the FCA’s accountability framework, requiring the FCA to have regard to the likely effect on the UK’s domestic and international commitments on climate change.

  As the Chancellor set out in his statement outlining the new chapter for the financial service in the UK, if we are to achieve the net zero target it will mean putting the full weight of private sector innovation, expertise and capital behind the critical global effort to tackle climate change and protect the environment. The Treasury and the regulators are already making ambitious strides to that effect, and Members have referred to the role of the former Governor, Mark Carney. I draw attention to the green finance strategy, which the Government published just 15 months ago, and to the work across a number of activities in the City on which I have been seeking to lead over the past three years. The green finance strategy is something that the regulators have actively supported.

  [Source]

  I hope I would never be accused of taking such an approach. The reality is that I want the Bill to work most effectively. As I just said, the regulators are already taking into account climate change as a risk to the economy. The FCA/PRA climate financial risk forum and the Bank of England’s climate change stress test are alive and working, and I am confident that they will continue to consider climate change risk when making rules for the prudential regimes. In that context, we will look carefully at the need to add that specific additional reason. I have also stressed the work that is going on internationally. We should ensure that what we put in primary legislation is actually best practice and in line with the evolving consensus on how to deal with such matters.

  [Source]

• 19 Oct 2020: Future Regulatory Framework and Solvency II Reviews

  To support insurance firms to provide long-term capital to support growth, including investment in infrastructure, venture capital and growth equity, and other long-term productive assets, as well as investment consistent with the Government’s climate change objectives.

  [Source]

• 11 Sep 2020: Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies (Environmentally Sustainable Investment) Bill

  00:07

  I wish to put it on record that I fully agree with the ambitions of the hon. Lady’s Bill to support the growth and development of the co-operative and mutual sector and to tackle climate change; I have enjoyed our dialogue during the preparation of the Bill to get to this point. Those are two key drivers of my tenure as Economic Secretary. I also wish to put it on record that the Government have taken significant steps to support the co-operative and mutual sector to reach its potential, and I will continue to champion mutuals of all kinds. Just last week, I was pleased to attend a roundtable on the topic of regional mutual banks chaired by my hon. Friend the Member for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake) who has also made contributions today. I will be taking some of the thoughts from that discussion forward.

  [Source]

  13:05

  I am conscious that the interest of the hon. Member for Cardiff North is not just in the development of the co-operative sector. In our discussions, her passion for taking action to address climate change and her considerable experience in Wales prior to coming to this place have been abundantly clear to me. The Government share that ambition. As the House will be aware, we legislated to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050, becoming the first major economy to do so. In the Budget earlier this year, the Chancellor also announced a series of real, tangible measures to support green growth and tackle climate change. They were wide-ranging, and included committing to the carbon capture and storage infrastructure fund; fulfilling the manifesto commitment to tree planting and peatland restoration through a £640 million Nature for Climate fund; delivering on our commitment to increase the proportion of green gas in the grid by consulting on introducing a Great Britain-wide green gas levy to support biomethane production, alongside other measures to decarbonise heat; and doubling the size of our energy innovation programme. In the summer economic update in July, the Government announced a further ambitious £3.05 billion package for housing decarbonisation designed to cut carbon, save people money and create jobs.

  In my own area of responsibility at the Treasury, green finance is a priority. We published our green finance strategy in July last year. It sets out very clear objectives to align private sector financial flows with clean, environmentally sustainable and resilient growth, and to strengthen the competitiveness of the UK financial sector. The tone of the debate and the content of colleagues’ speeches today have shown that there has to be an almost limitless ambition in terms of the dimensions of interventions. A number of contributions focused on the issue of green bonds and mobilising green finance. That means accelerating investments to support clean growth and our environmental ambitions. I think I would want to say that the issuance of green bonds will be an important part of the pathway to delivering the transition to net zero by 2050. It is something that the Treasury keeps under active and ongoing review as we approach fiscal events in the future.

  [Source]

  00:03

  To conclude, let me reiterate my sincere gratitude to the hon. Member for Cardiff North for bringing forward this Bill. There has been a constructive discussion today, and it is important to highlight the value of the co-operative and mutual sector, both to the House and the public. I thank her for the way that she has engaged with me and my officials in recent months. Her passion to support the sector and tackle climate change has been clear throughout. As I have indicated to her previously, I will be happy to continue to work with her and representatives from the sector, of which there are a number across the House, to understand what more can be done. I will continue to champion the work of the co-operative sector more generally and address some of the themes of today’s debate, which have been very valid and worth while.

  [Source]

• 8 Jul 2020: The Economy

  It is a plan that puts young people front and centre, with a kick-start scheme that will pay employers to create quality jobs for 16 to 24-year-olds at risk of long-term unemployment, alongside new funding for apprenticeships, traineeships and sector-based work academies. We shall be issuing guidance very shortly on how those schemes will interact with the extra support that we are putting into jobcentres. It also means that we shall invest in infrastructure, decarbonisation, and maintenance projects that will serve the needs of communities across the country, while creating jobs and apprenticeships here and now.

  [Source]

• 27 Apr 2020: Finance Bill

  00:00

  This Bill helps in the Government’s efforts to move towards a greener and more sustainable economy, as mentioned by the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Sir Edward Davey), and confirms that the CO 2 emissions figures for vehicle excise duty will be based on the worldwide harmonised light vehicle test procedure for all new registered cars from 1 April 2020. In addition, zero-emission cars will no longer be subjected to the VED expensive car supplement. These measures will help to ensure that, as our economy develops and grows, it does not jeopardise our environment. I know that many of these measures will attract widespread support across the House. I thank Opposition Members for the constructive and collegiate approach that they have taken over the past few weeks. In that spirit, let me address some of the valuable points raised further in today’s debate.

  [Source]

• 24 Mar 2020: Marine Renewables: Fiscal Support

  The Government take seriously their climate change responsibilities, including the target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. That means enabling a diverse range of low-carbon technologies, and we see the use of marine renewables in the future energy mix, though developers must demonstrate how those can compete with the low prices achieved by wind and solar technologies.

  [Source]

• 11 Feb 2019: Financial Services (Implementation of Legislation) Bill [Lords]

  19:09

  Turning to the points made by the hon. Member for Wakefield, the UK has publicly led on the development of sustainable finance, as she set out, and the Government are committed to the sustainable finance agenda and are a leader in green finance. That is why we have included these files in the Bill. We recognise that the files form part of the EU’s response to the Paris climate change agreement and the UN sustainable development goals. The Government support the aims of the files and do not consider them harmful to industry at their current stage of development. As such, we were pleased to add them to the schedule to the Bill, and we thank the noble Lords who recommended their inclusion.

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• 11 Sep 2018: Green Finance

  12:19

  Absolutely. Only two hours ago, the Department for Work and Pensions published its consultation response on pension trustees’ duties, which clearly sets out the Government’s intention to raise the profile of financially material climate change factors in investment decisions.

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  Absolutely. Green energy is very important to the UK economy as a whole; it is just very unfortunate that the rate of growth in the Scottish economy is half as strong as in the rest of the United Kingdom.

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• 3 Jul 2018: UK Battery Storage Market

  12:06

  The Government have a number of policies in place to support the development of low-carbon technology, including battery storage technologies. Those include the carbon price support mechanism, which encourages decarbonisation of the power sector; the Government’s smart systems and flexibility plan; and the Faraday challenge fund.

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• 11 Nov 2010: Topical Questions

  T5. Can the Minister assure me that he is working closely with his ministerial colleagues in the Department for Communities and Local Government to ensure that their approach to localism in the context of planning does not unreasonably restrict the diversification of farm businesses as they enthusiastically embrace small-scale renewable energy incentives?

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• 27 May 2010: Energy and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

  Thank you, Mr Speaker, for calling me to speak for the first time in the House. It is a great privilege to follow three excellent speeches by the hon. Members for Llanelli (Nia Griffith) and for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen) and by my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park (Zac Goldsmith), who I am sure will contribute much to Conservative Members’ understanding of issues around the environment and climate change.

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See all Parliamentary Speeches Mentioning Climate