Category: Environment

  • Jesse Norman – 2021 Statement on the Emissions Trading Scheme

    Jesse Norman – 2021 Statement on the Emissions Trading Scheme

    The statement made by Jesse Norman, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, on 5 July 2021.

    The Government are announcing today that legislation will be introduced at the earliest opportunity to allow a VAT zero rate to apply to trades in UK emissions trading scheme allowances within the VAT Terminal Markets Order (S11973/173) (TMO).

    A UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) replaced the UK’s participation in the EU ETS on 1 January 2021. The scheme has been established to increase the climate ambition of the UK’s carbon pricing policy, while mitigating the risk of carbon leakage through free allowances.

    Market participants can bid for UK ETS allowances on the UK auction platform or can acquire futures contracts in UK ETS allowances on the secondary market.

    The TMO permits VAT zero rating for transactions on terminal commodity markets. It is seen as an important VAT trade facilitation measure by those involved in trading commodity futures contracts, where often on these markets there are very substantial volumes of transactions over short periods of time. The zero-rating relief provided by the TMO avoids the administrative and cash flow burdens of accounting for VAT and should have no effect on the VAT amount collected at the final stage of consumption.

    I can confirm today the treatment will be provided from the time when these important trades commenced in May.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2021 Comments on the Net Zero Review

    Bridget Phillipson – 2021 Comments on the Net Zero Review

    The comments made by Bridget Phillipson, the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, on 30 June 2021.

    There’s a real danger this green bonds announcement is all talk and no action – just like the Chancellor’s long delayed Net Zero Review – and a distraction from the critical job of halting climate breakdown.

    We need far more details and a watertight guarantee that these bonds are spent properly on the green jobs and initiatives that will curb climate breakdown.

    The Chancellor must stop dragging his heels, and publish his final report into the Net Zero Review which has now been delayed since Autumn 2020.

    And he should hardwire his Net Zero targets into his upcoming spending review, as Labour would do.

  • Rachel Maclean – 2021 Comments on Electric Vehicle Charging

    Rachel Maclean – 2021 Comments on Electric Vehicle Charging

    The comments made by Rachel Maclean, the Transport Minister, on 30 June 2021.

    With sales of EVs increasing and the government’s net zero ambitions accelerating, I want to make it as easy as possible for EV drivers to charge up their vehicles at public chargepoints right across the UK, regardless of their mobility.

    We are taking action to provide accessibility guidance to both operators and drivers to make sure that the transition to zero-emission driving will benefit everyone in society as we build back better.

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2021 Comments on Ending Coal Power

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2021 Comments on Ending Coal Power

    The comment made by Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Energy and Climate Change Minister, on 30 June 2021.

    Coal powered the industrial revolution 200 years ago, but now is the time for radical action to completely eliminate this dirty fuel from our energy system.

    Today we’re sending a clear signal around the world that the UK is leading the way in consigning coal power to the history books and that we’re serious about decarbonising our power system so we can meet our ambitious, world-leading climate targets.

    The UK’s net zero future will be powered by renewables, and it is this technology that will drive the green industrial revolution and create new jobs across the country.

  • George Eustice – 2021 Comments on Protected Landscapes

    George Eustice – 2021 Comments on Protected Landscapes

    The comments made by George Eustice, the Secretary of State for the Environment, on 24 June 2021.

    We have an opportunity to create a new chapter for our protected landscapes.

    The work that we are going to take forward will contribute to our commitment to protect 30% of our land by 2030, and boost biodiversity, while designating more areas of the country for their natural beauty.

    Our Farming in Protected Landscapes programme will provide additional investment to allow farmers to work in partnership with our National Park Authorities and AONB teams to improve public access.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2021 Comments on Hydrogen Buses

    Sadiq Khan – 2021 Comments on Hydrogen Buses

    The comments made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 23 June 2021.

    We have made real progress in London to clean up our air, but we still have a long way to go because toxic air pollution in our city is still leading to thousands of premature deaths every year and is stunting the growth of children’s lungs. As part of our world-leading ongoing efforts, I’m proud to announce England’s first hydrogen double decker buses, which don’t produce any harmful emissions, will now be put into service.

    Our investment in these hydrogen buses is not only helping us to clean up London’s air, but is supporting jobs and local economics across the UK. This is a great demonstration of how tackling air pollution and the climate crisis and boosting economic growth is about regions working together, investing in the very latest technology.

    I’ve worked hard to ensure TfL’s entire core bus fleet across London now meets the ULEZ standards, and this includes 500 electric buses. Our new investment in hydrogen buses will move us even closer to our ambition of making all London buses zero-emission by 2030.

  • Boris Johnson – 2021 Comments on Amazon Destroying Large Quantities of Unsold Stock

    Boris Johnson – 2021 Comments on Amazon Destroying Large Quantities of Unsold Stock

    The comments made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 21 June 2021.

    It sounds incredible to me, an indictment of a consumerist society, if it’s as you say, we will look into it.

    Obviously we don’t like stuff going to landfill under any circumstances that’s why we have the landfill tax and landfill credit scheme, and everything else.

    I’m afraid it’s one of those things we’re just going to have to look into and get back to you.

    We want to see more reuse, we want to see more recycling but above all we want to stop people using things that are going to be, ultimately, polluting our seas, our world and that means cutting down our use of plastics, you name it.

  • Delyth Jewell – 2021 Comments on Climate Anxiety

    Delyth Jewell – 2021 Comments on Climate Anxiety

    The comments made by Delyth Jewell, the Plaid Cymru Spokesperson on Climate Change, on 9 June 2021.

    I’m eager in my new role to help to reframe the way we talk about climate change with children and young people, to focus more on the agency we have, the actions we can take to make a difference, not just about catastrophes that can’t be overcome.

    Climate anxiety is real, and scary, and can hit us all; so many of us will have had an overwhelming realisation that something truly awful is happening to our planet, and it can make us all feel powerless, like there’s nothing we can do.

    We can’t allow this narrative to continue, not least because our very hope of tackling the climate emergency rests on our not allowing it to overwhelm us.

    We need to get better at talking about climate change in a way that also gives us agency. The way we frame the conversation about human impact on our planet needs to show us tangible ways of reversing that impact, especially when talking to children and young people. Less ‘countdown to the end of the world’, more counting all the ways we can make a positive change.

    The media narrative has a role in this, but so does government messaging. There’s a huge role for the curriculum in Wales in this – guidance and support should be given to all teachers in how to address climate anxiety, and to make sure we can all give our children a sense that change is possible. That every action we take now can help to turn things around.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2021 Comments on Air Quality Monitoring in London

    Sadiq Khan – 2021 Comments on Air Quality Monitoring in London

    The comments made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 17 June 2021.

    The focus of this Clean Air Day is on protecting children’s health – and we know toxic air pollution in London stunts the growth of children’s lungs and worsens chronic illnesses such as asthma.

    That’s why tackling air pollution in our city has been a priority for me since I was first elected in 2016 and I’m more determined than ever to do everything I can to consign air pollution to the history books.

    I’m really proud that a further 131 air quality sensors are set to be added to London’s network, and later this year we are taking the pivotal step of expanding the world-first Ultra Low Emission Zone up to the North and South Circulars later this year, which will improve the health of all Londoners and deliver a cleaner, greener and fairer city.

  • Luke Pollard – 2021 Comments on the UK-Australian Trade Deal

    Luke Pollard – 2021 Comments on the UK-Australian Trade Deal

    The comments made by Luke Pollard, the Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on 15 June 2021.

    The Government are screwing over our farmers the same way they screwed over the British fishing industry. To do so with one sentence in a press release, and no answers to the crucial questions it raises, shows a staggering contempt for Britain’s farming communities.