UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Environment

  • Alok Sharma – 2022 Speech at London Climate Action Week

    Alok Sharma – 2022 Speech at London Climate Action Week

    The speech made by Alok Sharma, the COP26 President, on 27 June 2022.

    Thank you, Nick, and my congratulations as well on your OBE, and all you’re doing on climate action.

    So, friends, I joined last year to close London Climate Action Week.

    And that week, you’ll remember, saw a number of important announcements made, including the launch of the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance, and the expansion of the Powering Past Coal Alliance.

    So, it is a real pleasure to be joining you again, and I very much hope we end this week with further, more ambitious commitments.

    And it’s great to see so many climate leaders coming together.

    And as Nick has said, it’s leaders from across London’s government, business, youth, and civil society communities.

    Each of you squarely focused on how this brilliant city can be at the heart of tackling the climate crisis.

    That, for me, is leadership on climate action.

    Now, I understand that today’s first panel event will ask a simple, but actually vitally important question, which is:

    “Are Glasgow’s Promises Being Delivered?”

    It is the question that drives me forward, literally every waking hour, this year, during our COP Presidency year.

    If I look back to November, the Glasgow Climate Pact was forged, under the UK’s stewardship, between almost 200 countries.

    And it sets a path to a clean global future.

    And I do think Glasgow was historic.

    Because based on the commitments made in that Pact, and indeed through commitments outside the negotiating rooms as well, which some of you will have been involved in, we were able to say with credibility that we kept alive the prospect of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

    As a result of the work done in the lead up to COP26, we’ve now got 90 percent of the global economy now covered by net zero targets.

    When we took up the mantle of organising COP26, that was less than 30 percent.

    The Glasgow Pact calls on countries to revisit and strengthen their 2030 emissions reduction targets, as necessary, to align with the Paris temperature goal, and to do that by the end of this year.

    It urges developed countries to scale-up climate finance, and specifically to double finance for adaptation by 2025.

    And it underlines the importance of adaptation, the dangers of loss and damage, and the need to scale-up action and support for both, whilst, at the same time, charting a way forward to do so.

    Of course, we have to recognise the Glasgow Climate Pact has a whole range of other things it addressed, but I wanted to highlight the key ones.

    And of course, the world has changed markedly in the months since COP26.

    We meet against the backdrop of multiple global crises, much precipitated by the Putin regime’s illegal, brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

    And even as we deal with these challenges, the evidence on climate is unequivocal.

    The chronic threat of climate change is getting worse. That is what the science tells us.

    Climate impacts are compounding existing vulnerabilities, food, water, migration-related issues.

    Loss and damage is already occurring.

    Millions of lives and livelihoods are being affected.

    The one thing we have begun to understand as a result of Putin’s war, is that it amplifies the fact that climate and environmental security are totally interlinked, and are synonymous with energy and national security.

    It is clear that the window of time we have left to act is closing.

    And, frankly, it is closing fast.

    It is critical, therefore, really critical, that we turn the commitments we made in Glasgow into action.

    We have seen some progress made since COP26, on the commitments made in Glasgow.

    So, what’s the progress?

    I think we’ve seen some. I’ll go over some of the areas where we have.

    13 new Nationally Determined Contributions, including one recently from our friends in Australia.

    At the May Ministerial meeting I co-chaired in Copenhagen, bringing together almost 50 governments,

    I have to say, I was encouraged by some of the statements made by countries looking actively at revisiting their NDC.

    We’ve also had seven countries set out plans to revisit their emissions reduction targets at the recent Major Economies Forum, chaired by the US.

    We’ve got 51 long-term strategies have now been submitted to the UNFCCC, including a number since Glasgow.

    More than 2.5 billion people are now covered by adaptation plans.

    And work is being done to scale up finance, and, through the Access to Finance Taskforce co-chaired by the UK and Fiji, we are working to make sure that the finance can reach the climate vulnerable countries that need it most.

    We also saw progress on key work programmes at the intersessionals in Bonn this month.

    So, if I were to sum all this up, Nick, I’d say the scorecard on the Glasgow Climate Pact reads: some progress made, but a lot more to do.

    And we need to quicken the pace.

    Every country must respond to the call to revisit and strengthen their NDC, and actually, particularly the G20, which, as we know, are collectively responsible for 80% of global emissions.

    They must do so not at some vague point in the future, but by September 23rd this year, which is the deadline set by the UNFCCC.

    And more countries of course need to come forward to submit long-term strategies by that deadline too.

    And the reasons for this are that NDCs have to be backed by credible policies that deliver on the commitments made in Glasgow.

    From commitments on coal and cars, to trees and methane, to an acceleration of the shift to renewables, as well as the move to clean technologies, which are at the heart of the Glasgow Breakthrough Agenda, which we launched at COP26.

    We also need developed countries and other climate finance providers to ensure that finance flows to national and local adaptation priorities, supporting developing nations’ ambitions.

    And that means further progress on delivering the $100 billion a year, and, of course, on the commitment to double adaptation finance to $40 billion by 2025.

    This was a commitment made at COP and we have to honour it.

    We must also get the Santiago Network operationalised by the time we get to COP27, and show progress on work on the Global Goal on Adaptation, and the Glasgow Dialogue on loss and damage.

    This may sound like a really large programme of work.

    But it is what we agreed on delivering in Glasgow.

    And, in some respects, this is just the start.

    Looking ahead to COP27, and, indeed, beyond, we need to see faster progress on mobilising the trillions needed to put the world on a more sustainable footing.

    So, that means, finance for developing countries.

    For critical sectors.

    For clean technologies.

    Finance for our Just Energy Transition Partnerships too, such as the one we agreed for South Africa at COP26.

    And these JETPs, as we call them, are mechanisms that tailor support to individual developing countries’ energy transitions, helping to deliver national plans that keep the lights and the factories running, whilst at the same time driving progress towards a clean energy transition.

    And, at the same time, supporting the very many thousands of people, who currently rely on fossil fuels for a living, to reskill and retrain.

    And I have to say that, done right, these partnerships will have a profound impact around the world.

    Just last week, I was in South Africa, and I had the opportunity to meet many Cabinet ministers, but I also met current miners and mining trade unions.

    Their testimony was powerful.

    It is vital that the transition to clean energy is done in a managed way, which protects livelihoods and provides retraining opportunities, and jobs for affected workers.

    Above all, and I’m just being very frank about this, this is not about flicking a switch overnight.

    It is about a carefully managed transition.

    So, on JETPs, and across all the issues I have touched on here, we must continue to make progress.

    And I am going to be using the remaining months of our COP26 Presidency to urge further action, through the G7, the G20, at the UN General Assembly, and during the second Climate and Development Ministerial in September, which the UK is going to be hosting in the margins of UNGA.

    None of this work can be done without cities, local authorities, businesses, young people, and civil society by our side, making their own commitments, and driving us on.

    Look at London.

    This is a city which is, in very many ways, a big international powerhouse.

    It provides the UK with huge social, economic, and cultural energy.

    But as we are recognising through this gathering, the city is also responsible for a significant portion of total UK emissions.

    So there is clearly work to be done.

    And I am pleased that today’s second panel, which is looking specifically at London’s transition, and how to address this whole issue head on.

    There is already progress to report.

    For example, and you will know this, London is now ranked first on the Global Green Finance Index, an initiative that evaluates the green finance offerings of 80 major financial centres around the world.

    And the Government is providing funding to support the UK Cities Climate Investment Commission, helping to mobilise finance and drive investment into low and net zero carbon emissions projects across London, and across the UK’s largest cities.

    But I urge all those with us today to go further.

    I urge local leaders to set out the clear steps they will be taking to reach net zero across different areas.

    From housing and transport.

    To planting trees and enhancing nature.

    Tackling air pollution, and building green infrastructure.

    Frankly, the sort of infrastructure that the Prime Minister championed, during his mayoralty, to make London one of the most cycle-friendly cities in the world.

    And, to all those business leaders in the audience, I urge you to recognise that net zero is one of the clearest economic trends there has ever been.

    As I said earlier, 90 percent of the global economy is now covered by net zero targets.

    We also know, at COP26, we have financial institutions with over $130 trillion of assets on their balance sheets, many of them actually based in London, have committed to net zero by 2050 through the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero.

    The UN-backed Race to Zero campaign, which commits its members to reach net zero by 2050 at the latest, now has 7,500 international businesses, that’s an almost 50 percent increase in the number of businesses since COP26.

    And, of course, over 60 percent of UK FTSE100 companies are committed to net zero as part of that effort.

    The opportunities this transition presents, for jobs, for investment, and for economic growth, are actually clear.

    And frankly the idea that there is a trade-off between climate action and corporate success is increasingly seen as anachronistic.

    So, for those of you who have already committed to net zero as part of this effort, I want to thank you, I want to salute you for that, but now is the time to go further and set out clear plans, clear transition plans, for how you will get there.

    For those of you who have not yet committed to net zero, please, just go for it.

    You won’t be disappointed.

    It’s going to be good for your bottom line.

    Finally, I know there are youth and civil society leaders in the audience today as well.

    Your role is absolutely crucial.

    I have been clear about that throughout the UK’s COP26 Presidency.

    In fact, we established the COP26 Civil Society and Youth Advisory Council to help shape the Glasgow summit.

    And when I’ve gone around the world, I’ve always made an effort to meet youth and civil society groups around the world, and hear their views.

    We need your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your leadership.

    We need people who are on-the-ground in their communities, helping to deliver effective local solutions.

    And, frankly, we need you to keep up the pressure on governments and businesses to deliver on the commitments they have made.

    Between all of us: central and local government, business, youth, civil society,

    London can continue to be a powerful force for change.

    Creating the conditions for ambitious climate action, which is what we need.

    So, thank you for your leadership, for using your influence, and for showing how strongly the appetite for climate action exists.

    But your work does not end with the UK’s COP26 Presidency.

    Because whilst the work we did in Glasgow did allow us to say with some credibility that we had kept 1.5 degrees alive, the reality is that the pulse of 1.5 remains weak.

    The only way, my friends, that we will strengthen it is to redouble our efforts and to make sure to implement the commitments we have made.

    Thank you so much for having me today.

    And best of luck for the rest of the week.

  • Alok Sharma – 2022 Speech at the UN High Level Political Forum

    Alok Sharma – 2022 Speech at the UN High Level Political Forum

    The speech made by Alok Sharma, the COP26 President, at the UN High Level Political Forum on 13 July 2022.

    Excellencies, colleagues, friends.

    It is an absolute pleasure to be joining you today.

    When we met last year, the UK co-convened a constructive discussion on effective climate adaptation, and a green and inclusive recovery from the pandemic.

    Today is another important milestone.

    Yes, much has changed in the last year.

    We meet against the backdrop of multiple global crises, much precipitated by the Putin regime’s illegal, brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

    And many now recognise that climate and environmental security are completely interlinked with energy and national security.

    And whilst countries must deal with their immediate energy needs, many have understood that our shared long-term energy futures do not lie in fossil fuels.

    But even as we deal with these challenges, the central premise of last year’s session – that we must deliver a just and sustainable recovery – holds true.

    Because just as the global economic situation is perilous, the science is clear that the chronic threat of climate change is getting worse.

    Now, I am very pleased that the UK is at the forefront of the efforts to tackle global warming.

    And last year’s G7, convened in Carbis Bay, delivered a step change in infrastructure investment, in pursuit of clean, green growth.

    We have continued to lead through our “British Investment Partnerships,” and the “Clean Green Initiative,” mobilising billions, and our financial expertise, to drive clean growth around the world.

    And for me it has been an incredible honour to drive this agenda forward as COP26 President.

    The Glasgow Climate Pact, forged amongst nearly 200 countries, was historic.

    And based on the commitments made in that Pact, and indeed outside the negotiating rooms,

    I believe that we were able to say with credibility that we kept alive the prospect of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels; and that we had supported the most vulnerable.

    We got important commitments on mitigation, particularly the call for countries to revisit and strengthen their NDCs by the end of this year.

    The Glasgow Sharm-el Sheikh work programme underlined the imperative for all countries to prepare and respond to climate risks.

    And, for the first time ever in these processes, the Pact recognised the need to address the issue of loss and damage substantively, and systematically.

    Countries, companies and financial institutions pledged to clean up vital sectors, to end deforestation, and to accelerate the move to clean technologies.

    And we did important work to scale-up climate finance, with the $100 billion Delivery Plan, the commitment to at least double adaptation finance by 2025, and work to ensure that finance flows to national and local adaptation priorities.

    Financial institutions with over $130 trillion of assets on their balance sheets committed to a net zero future.

    And I was delighted that we were able to announce the first “Just Energy Transition Partnership,” the South Africa JETP.

    Now many of these commitments ensured we pushed forward across several of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as well, from “Life Below Water” to “Life On Land.”

    What we achieved together in Glasgow was significant.

    And I am pleased that we have seen some progress since November.

    We’ve got 16 new, revised NDCs.

    We’ve got a handful of new long-term strategies.

    Over 2.5 billion people now covered by adaptation plans.

    And extensive work to scale up and improve access to finance is continuing.

    But, collectively, friends, the progress has been too limited, and just too slow.

    Many of the commitments we heard in Glasgow remain just that, commitments.

    Words on a page.

    And all the while the evidence tells us that time is running out.

    From the science of the IPCC reports, to the wildfires, droughts and floods to which the world is sadly too often witness.

    So, across all the commitments we made in Glasgow, we simply must quicken the pace.

    If we don’t, next year’s Global Stocktake will make clear that we are not delivering on the Paris Goals, that 1.5 degrees is moving further, and frankly irreversibly, out of reach, and that we risk going beyond our limits to adapt.

    The consequences of that would be grave, for every sector, and for every country.

    This, my friends, is about the immediate impact on the lives and livelihoods of many millions around the world.

    So, I will continue to urge countries and companies to redouble their efforts, to ensure that their emissions targets represent the highest possible ambition, and to implement the commitments that they have made.

    And I am going to convene the second Climate and Development Ministerial in the margins of the UN General Assembly.

    And we will of course continue to engage with our friends in Egypt.

    In all this work, my message is a consistent one.

    We do have an opportunity to build back better and greener, and to put the world on the path to a more sustainable future.

    But we are running out of time.

    We have to act.

    And we have to act now.

    Thank you.

  • Alok Sharma – 2022 Speech at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Rwanda

    Alok Sharma – 2022 Speech at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Rwanda

    The speech made by Alok Sharma in Kigali, Rwanda, on 23 June 2022.

    Thank you for the introduction.

    I am delighted to be here today.

    Over the past two and a half years, I have spoken at numerous conferences and summits around the world.

    Virtually and, of course, physically, I have delivered many, many hundreds of speeches.

    In doing so, I’ve shared stages with representatives from government, from business, and from civil society.

    You’ve just heard from FIFA. I think someone was lucky enough to get a ball too.

    You will soon hear from Google, the Norwegian-African Business Association.

    And each organisation is working to shape a future in which we can deliver prosperity, but without sacrificing the planet.

    For me, it is truly encouraging to see such broad agreement on the need for climate action.

    And I do believe that we have hit that inflection point where governments, business and civil society are broadly united in wanting to tackle climate change,

    And deliver both an environmental and economic dividend.

    And I am pleased therefore that Rwanda and its role as Commonwealth Chair in office is using this session to consider how we deliver economic prosperity without sacrificing the planet.

    And it is a key question that our family of Commonwealth nations needs to address, and address urgently,

    How we can achieve collective prosperity, economic sustainability and societal resilience, all at the same time.

    That, my friends, is the ball that I am kicking to you.

    And if we are to achieve these goals, working through the international system, it’s going to be absolutely critical

    I mean, just look at COP26. Some of you who are with us today were also with us in November

    Back then, under the UK’s stewardship, almost 200 countries forged the historic Glasgow Climate Pact.

    Despite challenging global geopolitics even then we were able to bring nations together.

    Because each of us recognised that it was in our collective self-interest to act on climate.

    The Glasgow Climate Pact forges a path to a clean global future.

    It keeps alive the possibility of limiting the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees.

    And it told a watching world that leaders – including many of the leaders who are here at this conference – it told the world that leaders could and would rise above their differences, and unite against that common challenge.

    The Pact calls on countries to phase-down unabated coal power and phase-out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.

    It contains big commitments on climate mitigation, on adaptation and on finance.

    And it also sets out a way forward on the crucial issue of loss and damage.

    It was for me an extraordinary privilege to play my part as Shepherd-in-Chief at that event.

    Of course, we have to acknowledge that the world has changed since then.

    We meet today against the backdrop of multiple global crises.

    Indeed, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, has described our situation as “the most universally complex policy environment of our lifetime”.

    Therefore, climate is understandably no longer on the front pages.

    But the current crises should increase, not diminish, our determination to deliver on what the world agreed in Glasgow.

    Even as we deal with the immediate challenges facing us, all the evidence, including the latest findings from various UN reports, makes clear that the chronic threat of climate change is getting worse.

    My friends I have to say this to you, climate change does not recognise borders – look in your own countries and see what’s happening – and the Commonwealth is no exception to facing the harsh impacts of global warming.

    Last year we saw wildfires rage in Australia.

    This year, India and Pakistan have experienced unbearable temperatures.

    A billion people exposed to extreme heat in some of the hottest months since records began.

    And in South Africa where I have just come from, floods have swept the province of KwaZulu-Natal, destroying buildings and claiming lives.

    At the same time, Vladimir Putin’s illegal, brutal and unprovoked war against Ukraine has amplified that climate and environmental security are interlinked with energy and national security.

    And that is why the UK is so focused on using the remaining months of our COP26 presidency to turn commitments into action.

    What it needs, friends, is for us to focus on implementation.

    Every country must respond to the Glasgow Climate Pact’s call to revisit and strengthen their 2030 emissions reduction targets this year.

    And we need countries to submit those emissions reduction targets by the UNFCCC’s deadline, on September 23rd including their long term strategies.

    We are continuing to push for practical progress on mitigation, on finance, on adaptation, and on loss and damage.

    We continue to press for further progress in critical sectors and on clean technologies.

    And I remain especially focused on the most climate vulnerable countries and communities, many of whom are represented here.

    Because, for these nations in particular, the situation is devastatingly clear.

    As Prime Minister Mia Motley of Barbados told us in Glasgow, for her country, “a two degrees rise is a death sentence”.

    For many, tackling climate change is literally that, it’s the difference between life, and death.

    So to deliver on effective climate action we are going to continue to push forward for more funding through Just Energy Transition Partnerships.

    We’re going to be working on increasing finance for adaptation, including ensuring the private sector is mobilising finance as well.

    And it means listening to the consistent calls from climate vulnerable countries to improve access to finance as well.

    If I just say to you that in Africa, Africa is responsible for less than 3% of global emissions and yet on this continent there are very many countries that are on the front line of climate change.

    And therefore we know that change is necessary.

    We know that change is in our collective self-interest.

    And we know that change will not happen unless we act, and unless we act now.

    And so it is time for world leaders, the leaders here at this conference to demonstrate that they are delivering on the commitments they have made.

    Together, we can, and we must, make this a year of delivery, to keep 1.5 degrees alive, and to deliver prosperity, without sacrificing the planet.

    Thank you.

  • George Eustice – 2022 Statement on the Government’s Food Strategy

    George Eustice – 2022 Statement on the Government’s Food Strategy

    The statement made by George Eustice, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in the House of Commons on 13 June 2022.

    Today I have published the Government’s first ever food strategy, outlining our plan to transform our food system to ensure it is fit for the future.

    The Government food strategy follows the independent review of the food system led by Henry Dimbleby last year, which set out an analysis of the challenges facing the food system. The food strategy takes on several of the independent review’s recommendations, and I would like to thank Henry Dimbleby and his team for their work examining our food system and the vital role it plays in all our lives.

    Food security sits at the heart of this Government’s vision for the food system—boosting food production, job creation and the wider economy with a focus on skills and innovation, to level up across the country.

    We want to create a sustainable food system, from farm to fork and catch to plate, seizing on the opportunities before us and ensuring that everyone has access to nutritious and healthier food.

    To do this, our objectives for this strategy are:

    A prosperous agri-food and seafood sector that ensures a secure food supply in an unpredictable world and contributes to the levelling up agenda through good quality jobs around the country.

    A sustainable, nature positive, affordable food system that provides choice and access to high quality products that support healthier and home-grown diets for all.

    Trade that provides export opportunities and consumer choice through imports, without compromising our regulatory standards for food, whether produced domestically or imported. This strategy builds on work that is already underway across Government.

    Significantly, it confirms that we will:

    support farmers to broadly maintain levels of domestic production through productivity gain and our new farming schemes,

    support our farmers through our new farming schemes and innovation programmes and boosting production in key sectors, including horticulture and seafood,

    release the additional provision of 10,000 visas under the seasonal worker visa route, including 2,000 for the poultry sector,

    work with industry to support the upcoming Migration Advisory Committee review of the Shortage Occupation List, and commission an independent review to ensure the quantity and quality of the food sector workforce,

    work with the food and drink industry to review existing skills programmes, identify improvements, and tackle barriers that currently prevent uptake, helping to drive up completion of skills training, pay and productivity in all areas of the UK to support levelling up,

    publish a land use framework in 2023 to ensure we meet our net zero and biodiversity targets, and help our farmers adapt to a changing climate,

    launch a Food Data Transparency Partnership, bringing together Government, industry and civil society to drive a real transformation in health, animal welfare and environmental outcomes through our food,

    consult on Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (GBSF), including whether to widen the scope of GBSF mandatory organisations to cover the whole public sector and introducing an aspirational target that at least 50% of food spend must be on food produced locally or certified to higher environmental production standards, while maintaining value for money for taxpayers,

    harness the benefits of new Free Trade Agreement (FTAs) made possible following Brexit, while maintaining our world-leading domestic standards, by using a range of levers within our bespoke trade agreements.

    The levers influencing the food system are dispersed. We will work collaboratively across UK Government Departments, as well as closely with the devolved Administrations, industry and civil society to achieve our ambitions. We will report on our progress against the food strategy goals alongside the next UK food security report.

  • Boris Johnson – 2022 Comments on Government’s Food Strategy

    Boris Johnson – 2022 Comments on Government’s Food Strategy

    The comments made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 13 June 2022.

    Our Food Strategy sets out a blueprint for how we will back farmers, boost British industry and help protect people against the impacts of future economic shocks by safeguarding our food security.

    Harnessing new technologies and innovation, we will grow and eat more of our own food – unlocking jobs across the country and growing the economy, which in turn will ultimately help to reduce pressure on prices.

  • Michael Heseltine – 1991 Comments on the Environment and European Political Union

    Michael Heseltine – 1991 Comments on the Environment and European Political Union

    The comments made by Michael Heseltine, the then Secretary of State for the Environment, in the House of Commons on 7 March 1991.

    The United Kingdom has made two proposals designed to strengthen the link between the Community’s environmental policy and its other policies. First, we have proposed an amendment to article 2 of the treaty of Rome which sets out the Community’s fundamental objectives. Those objectives derive from an era when environmental considerations were not seen as a constraint on economic activity, and currently take no account of the subsequent development of EC environmental policy. We have therefore proposed adding a new objective of promoting throughout the Community sustainable growth which respects the environment.

    Secondly, we have called for an agreement that in future new proposals for Community legislation or action, in whatever field, should include a statement on the environmental effects of the proposed measures. This is intended to ensure that environmental requirements and implications are taken properly into account in the formulation of all areas of Community policy.

    In our White Paper “This Common Inheritance” we stressed the need to improve Community environment policies. We believe these ideas would be of important practical value in ensuring that different areas of Community policy do not act in conflict, and that environmental considerations are given the priority they require.

  • Michael Heseltine – 1991 Statement on Energy Efficiency at the Department for the Environment

    Michael Heseltine – 1991 Statement on Energy Efficiency at the Department for the Environment

    The statement made by Michael Heseltine, the then Secretary of State for the Environment, in the House of Commons on 30 January 1991.

    Since 1985, energy efficiency in my Department has been promoted by monitoring its fuel and utilities consumption, the establishment of energy conservation targets, the implementation of energy saving schemes, including the installation of more energy efficient lighting and improved computerised building management control systems, and the promotion of staff awareness relating to their energy usage and role in its conservation.

    Further measures include the proposed replacement of the building research establishment heating system and the installation of lighting controls and low-energy-consuming luminaries in headquarters buildings in London and Bristol.

    Over the four-year period ending March 1990, the energy bill for my Department’s office estate (excluding the Property Services Agency and Property Holdings) was reduced by approximately 30 per cent. Whilst figures for the current financial year will not be available until May 1991, my Department expects to achieve further savings of 3 per cent. over 1989–90.

  • Michael Heseltine – 1991 Speech on Oil Pollution in the Gulf

    Michael Heseltine – 1991 Speech on Oil Pollution in the Gulf

    The statement made by Michael Heseltine, the then Secretary of State for the Environment, in the House of Commons on 28 January 1991.

    Mr. Speaker, with permission I will make a statement about the United Kingdom response to the environmental damage taking place in the Gulf.

    The oil spill in the Gulf appears to be the largest ever. It is 35 miles long by 10 miles wide. It appears to contain some 8 million barrels of oil and it is moving down the Gulf at 15 to 20 miles per day. Words are inadequate to condemn the callousness and irresponsibility of the action of Saddam Hussein in deliberately unleashing this environmental catastrophe.

    There is a threat to desalination plants and fresh water supplies, to birds and other wildlife, to fish, sea mammals and shellfish, and to local communities dependent for their livelihoods on the sea.

    With our allies, the United Kingdom is playing a full part in the world’s response to this abomination.

    First, we must stem the flow of oil. The United States has already acted on this decisively and, we believe and hope, effectively.

    Secondly, we must assess the way in which the oil may flow so that we can assess likely consequences. Action is in hand in the Gulf itself to do that. To supplement it, United Kingdom scientific resources are already being mobilised. Existing computer models at the Meteorological Office and Proudman oceanographic laboratory are being urgently adapted to help give the best possible predictions of the likely behaviour of the slick in the Gulf.

    Thirdly, we need to assess possible effects on marine life. The United States is already sending experts. The Natural Environment Research Council is co-ordinating urgent work to bring together here in the United Kingdom information that we have on marine life and effects that could be useful in the Gulf.

    Fourthly, in common with other countries, the United Kingdom is taking practical steps to help to protect desalination plants and sensitive coastal areas and inlets. The airlift of an initial 70 tonnes of equipment from the stores maintained by the oil industry will go ahead today, with a further flight tomorrow. Further material will be available if needed. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Transport is looking sympathetically at requests that we have received from the Saudi Government for the loan of small numbers of skilled pollution control experts and advisers. We anticipate being able to respond later today. The Department of Transport will meet European Community colleagues tomorrow to consider whether the Community should send in its standing task force of national experts on oil pollution response. We shall be urging strongly that it should do so.

    For the longer term, the United Kingdom is considering now how it will be able to help with the clean-up and restoration of the habitats and human settlements affected once it is safe to do so. We are making arrangements to assess and bring together the contribution that United Kingdom bodies outside Government, whether public, private or voluntary, can make.

    The first responsibility for dealing with the environmental problems facing the Gulf lies with the Gulf states themselves. We do not yet know what final form the arrangements for co-ordinating their efforts will take: matters are still developing fast. But, whatever they may be, the United Kingdom stands ready to play its full and immediate part. We shall be in touch later today with Saudi Arabia and the other states most closely involved with a first indication of the help that we can offer.

    Meanwhile, the United Nations Environment Programme is today announcing its intention to take a lead on improving environmental communications and co-ordinating technical expertise. I have been in touch with UNEP to establish what we can offer by way of expert staff or other help.

    On Wednesday, the Environment Ministers of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development meet in Paris. I shall be calling then for all OECD members to respond to this disaster and to take action according to their experience, equipment and skills to offer help to the Gulf states likely to be affected. But there is a wider issue. It is not only war that creates risks. It seems important to recognise the ongoing dangers of environmental calamity which arise from time to time which go way beyond national frontiers.

    I mean to raise with OECD colleagues the proposal that we should set up a working party to recommend what more effective preparations we could undertake to cope with these disasters. I have in mind that there should be a register setting out available expertise and available facilities on which affected nations could draw in times of crisis. In this context, we shall be pressing for an early conclusion to the work already in hand in the International Maritime Organisation to put into effect a full-scale international convention on preparedness and response in relation to oil pollution and to set up regional centres to pool resources.

    The whole House will be appalled at the environmental damage threatening the Gulf. The Government are determined to do all they reasonably can to assist those faced with the consequences of this outrage. We also intend to inject a new urgency into consideration of the wider issues raised by environmental threats that require co-ordination above the national level.

  • Michael Heseltine – 1990 Statement on the Number of Prosecutions Undertaken by the National Rivers Authority

    Michael Heseltine – 1990 Statement on the Number of Prosecutions Undertaken by the National Rivers Authority

    The statement made by Michael Heseltine, the then Secretary of State for the Environment, in the House of Commons on 12 December 1990.

    I understand that the National Rivers Authority brought 3,997 successful prosecutions for all types of offences during its first year of operation. Of these, 3,549 were for fisheries offences, 370 for water pollution offences, 59 for navigational offences and 19 for water resources offences. I shall be reviewing progress with Lord Crickhowell in the near future.

    I attach great importance to securing improvements in environmental standards wherever they are needed. We have established an environmental and economic framework within which decisions will be taken.

  • Jo Churchill – 2022 Speech on the Deposit Return Scheme

    Jo Churchill – 2022 Speech on the Deposit Return Scheme

    The speech made by Jo Churchill, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in the House of Commons on 26 May 2022.

    If you will indulge me, Mr Deputy Speaker, on the day of the Humble Address to Her Majesty, I wish to add my voice and those of the constituents of Bury St Edmunds to the voices of others in this place who have expressed their deep appreciation of and thanks for Her Majesty’s dedication, kindness, good humour and service to our nation. She has visited our great county on many occasions and I know that we will celebrate, as the rest of the country will, with bunting and fanfare over the coming week. I am looking forward to judging a fancy dress competition in one of my lovely villages.

    As a long-term advocate for our natural environment, Her Majesty, I am sure, would be extremely interested in the important subject that we are discussing today. On that note, I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Mr Hollobone) for securing this debate and for the opportunity to discuss the Government’s plans for introducing a deposit return scheme for drinks containers.

    As I am sure my hon. Friend is aware, there is an awful lot going on in this space, driven by our resources and waste strategy and the powers that we took in the Environment Act 2021, which was passed last November. With that in mind, we are proud to be driving forward work across the collection and packaging reforms, which is made up of the deposit return scheme, the extended producer responsibility for packaging and the increased consistency in recycling collections in England to which he referred.

    The DRS is pivotal to this Government’s commitment to increasing recycling rates. However, we should not overlook that it will provide other benefits. In particular, it will deliver high-quality recyclate for recycling; enable the drinks industry to close the loop on its packaging; help move the UK towards the circular economy, where resources are kept in use longer and waste is minimised, taking us away from that linear throwaway society; deter the littering of in-scope containers; reduce the associated damage to wildlife and habitats; and therefore promote pro-environmental consumer behaviours, with potential knock-on effects on other positive environmental activities.

    My hon. Friend has raised some important concerns on behalf of the industry. I want to be clear that our ambition is to introduce a deposit return scheme that works for everyone—for the consumer and across the industries. I know that, in many of our households, across the UK, drinks packaged in metal cans are drunk regularly. For that reason, we all recognise that those cans—light, sturdy, and convenient for storage and transport—have intrinsic qualities that will always make them desirable to consumers and the product of choice. We are of course mindful that any cost to people’s purses, or businesses is particularly tough in the current environment, but we do want to introduce policies that encourage recycling and reduce the amount of litter that blights our environment.

    Although DRS is a complex policy to introduce, requiring the efforts of multiple industries, in one way, we are lucky. As my hon. Friend said, there are 40 other deposit return schemes out there, in other nations, from which we can learn. Not only are we drawing on the experiences of the roll-out of DRS in Scotland to inform implementation and planning, but I had the pleasure of meeting the Environment Minister from Lithuania, where a scheme was also recently introduced. I have plans to visit Norway shortly to find out more about its deposit return scheme. Norway has not included glass in its scheme, and nor have the Netherlands or Sweden. I note that the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) is no longer in his place, but I understand that southern Ireland, in its plans for a scheme, is contemplating excluding glass. There is, therefore, a mixture of schemes out there.

    I recognise that there are deposit return schemes with different scope across the United Kingdom, given that glass is excluded in England and Northern Ireland, but we remain totally committed to working with the devolved Administrations to ensure that there is a completely coherent, interoperable system across the UK.

    Excluding glass offers us an opportunity to look at how we incentivise reusable schemes for glass. Those containers that are not within the deposit return scheme are within the extended producer responsibility scheme, so exclusion does not in any way mean that we are not making policy to improve the reuse, recycling and resource efficiency of those things. On the question of VAT, as my hon. Friend would expect, we are in discussion with Her Majesty’s Treasury. I have met the Financial Secretary on this matter in the recent past, as has the Secretary of State.

    Ultimately, DEFRA’s ambitious collections and packaging reform agenda cannot be delivered by Government alone. The deposit return scheme will be an industry-led scheme. For that reason we, alongside colleagues in the devolved Administrations, continue to work closely with all relevant sectors to implement a scheme that is as coherent and aligned as we can make it.

    I take this opportunity to thank all those who have fed into the consultations, and those who continue to be generous with their insights and expertise into what is positive about schemes they run and where they think we can improve. That will ensure that we deliver a successful deposit return scheme in England.