COP 26

Debate between Baroness Hayman and Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

Tuesday 25th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]]

The noble Lord is right. Of course, developed countries need to make good on their promise to mobilise at least $100 billion in public finance to tackle climate change and a big chunk of that needs to be spent on nature-based solutions, but we need international financial institutions to play a part as well. We need to unleash trillions in addition to that in private sector finance. As part of this, we are doing what we can to complete negotiations successfully around Article 6, which would pave the way to functioning, high-integrity carbon markets as just one solution. Finally, Governments need to shift the subsidies, which dwarf anything that is available via aid agencies, and ensure that instead of funding destruction, as most of them currently do, they fund renewal and sustainability.

[Baroness Hayman (CB) [V]]

My Lords, continuing the financial theme, I declare my interest as co-chair of Peers for the Planet. Has the Minister seen the report published today showing that, if the UK banking and investment sector were ranked as a country, it would be ninth in the world for carbon emissions? In the light of that information, will the Government show leadership before COP 26 by bringing forward a UK strategy to green our financial and taxation systems, as recommended in the recent report of the Public Accounts Committee?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]]

My Lords, no, I have not seen that report, but I will, of course, look it up. I am not surprised by this, given the size and importance of London with respect to its financial sector. As a Government, we are supporting a crucially important new initiative called the TNFD—the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure—which aims to do what has been achieved in relation to carbon disclosure and make sure that, between those two initiatives, businesses are able to identify and avoid exposure to the risks of both climate change and nature destruction. We feel that this initiative has the capacity to shift the dynamic in the financial sector and we are supporting it in every way we possibly can.

Air Quality and Emissions

Debate between Baroness Hayman and Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

Tuesday 19th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park]

This is a huge question and one not just for the Department for the Environment but across the whole of government. We have to ensure that in many respects we are able bank some of the improvements that we have seen in air pollution. To support the expansion of alternatives to public transport, particularly for the 40% or so of commuters whose journey is less than three miles, we have announced a wide package of measures, including £2 billion for cycling and walking, accelerated work on the introduction of e-scooters—which is very good news—and the deployment of tech expertise to help people avoid congested travel routes. We will provide £2 billion of funding for active travel, which I believe is the largest-ever commitment by any Government to help transform the manner in which we travel.

[Baroness Hayman (CB)]

My Lords, these improvements in air quality have come at a terrible cost. Does the Minister agree that, post-Covid, it is possible both to embed environmental gains and to provide the essential economic stimulus the country will need through the sorts of measures that he has just been talking about—such as investment in sustainable infrastructure, in transport and in training for the green economy—so that we really do build back better?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park]

It is essential that decisions we make today have at their heart a commitment to long-term sustainability and resilience, both in our domestic actions and in our global outreach—through, for example, the Department for International Development. That thread should run through all government decisions in all departments. That is why we are so pleased to hear the commitments by the Department for Transport, the Secretary of State for BEIS—who is also the president of COP—and other departments of government. There is no doubt in my mind that this Government recognise that out of the ashes of this appalling disaster we have an opportunity to make decisions which will pass the test of the time. The Prime Minister himself—[inaudible.]