Climate and Ecology Bill [HL]

Baroness Hooper Excerpts

Committee stage
Friday 18th November 2022 Lords Chamber

Inevitably, we have to act in our own backyard and not just on the international stage. That is why I support the Bill’s intent in setting clear, robust targets for the UK, even as it champions robust targets at the global level. Indeed, I suggest that we see it as our national objective by 2030 to be not bottom of the G7 but top of the class. Maybe that is ambitious, but it is profoundly important that the Government show clear and strong leadership in this national task. I look forward to the Minister’s response.

[Baroness Hooper (Con)]

My Lords, at Second Reading I was happy to support the principle of this Bill as a way of plugging the gap in the Environment Act 2021, as then outlined by the noble Lord, Lord Redesdale. I appreciate the reasons he has outlined again today for his decision to concentrate solely on the nature loss reversal target to make the Bill more focused. I therefore support the amendments he has outlined in this respect.

We should not lose sight of the dramatic facts, which have been referred to not only by the noble Lord, Lord Redesdale, but by the noble Lord, Lord Green. The UK is one of the most nature-depleted nations on earth. Frankly, I was extremely shocked and surprised when I first heard this fact. Many will be surprised, especially now at the end of COP 27, where everybody was rather focusing on the problems in Amazonia. I feel this is an appropriate moment to mention how delighted we are to welcome President Lula’s statements in Cairo yesterday in respect of Brazil’s policies in this area.

In the United Kingdom I am heartened by Defra’s 10-point plan, issued in September, which asks for urgent investment in

“solutions that halt and reverse the decline of biodiversity by 2030.”

It seems to me that this ecology Bill, as I hope it will be at the end of these proceedings, ties in with and will support that objective. I will be interested to hear from my noble friend the Minister the Government’s views and the ways in which the Bill can help further the Government’s aims.

In looking at statistics in the area of biodiversity, we should not forget that the major part of the UK’s biodiversity is to be found in the overseas territories—places such as Tristan da Cunha, the Falkland Islands, St Helena, and so on. My only query to the noble Lord, Lord Redesdale, is the extent to which he has had contact with the Governments of the overseas territories in forming his decisions on the Bill.

I would also like to hear from the Front Bench the Government’s view on how any future plans to create legally binding targets to deliver their environment policies, which include the provisions of the Bill, will be implemented by the devolved Governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, who have their own responsibilities in this respect. I support the amendments and the principle of the Bill.

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

My Lords, it is extremely welcome to have the Bill return for Committee, and I appreciate the opportunity to take part and to continue to raise issues that we feel are not being met by this Government and are within our grasp to make a real difference on.

Again, I commend the leadership shown in this area by the noble Lord, Lord Redesdale, in bringing the Bill forward. I also commend Zero Hour for providing us with all the important briefings to support and improve the quality of our debates, and of course I commend all the campaigners across the country who have worked hard to raise the issues concerned and to push them to the forefront of the political agenda. In today’s debate, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Green, in particular, for sharing his expertise, which added a richness to the discussions at hand.

I turn to the Bill and note all of the comments about the impact of the amendments tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Redesdale, and what they actually mean. I welcome the decision to give the Bill a more concise focus. I believe that steps to make it more amenable to the Government of course mean that it is more likely to see actual action, which is the reason that we are all here. So I am pleased to support these amendments.

As we heard, the Bill as published had various joined-up objectives: imposing a duty on the Government to introduce a strategy for reducing the UK’s

“overall contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions to net zero”;

establishing a “Climate and Nature Assembly” to advise the Government; and giving additional duties to the Climate Change Committee and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. These all remain important aspects, but this group of amendments will leave us with a five-clause Bill with just one major objective for the Secretary of State: a duty to ensure that the UK

“halts and reverses its overall contribution to the degradation and loss of nature in the United Kingdom ... by ... increasing the health, abundance, diversity and resilience of species, populations, habitats and ecosystems”

and by

“fulfilling its obligations under the UNCBD and … the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature”.

The case for tackling biodiversity loss, climate change and environmental risks to public health is clear. Research from the Natural History Museum—I am pleased that we have had its input—found that the UK is last among G7 countries in terms of how much diversity survives, and it sits in the bottom 10% of all countries globally. It is worth us all repeating these statistics.

As we have heard, we are one of the most nature-depleted nations on earth. Much damage has already been done, and letting it continue would be even more alarming. Some of our most iconic and much-loved British animals could soon be extinct, including the red squirrel, the wildcat, the water vole, the dormouse and even the hedgehog. We have already seen a two-thirds decline in flying insect numbers in England in just the last 16 years. Thousands of badgers continue to be killed, authorised by this Government—in my view unnecessarily—and there are also bee-killing neonic pesticides. The Government have also failed to act to stop illegal hunting or effectively limit peat extraction and moorland burning.

If the Government fail to deliver on their environmental targets, their promise to protect at least 30% of our land, waters and ocean by 2030 is in serious doubt. It is no surprise that environmental groups, including the RSPB, the Wildlife Trusts and the National Trust, have accused the Government of an attack on nature by their policies, such as weakening environmental protections in investment zones, the retained EU law Bill and threatening to downgrade new environment-friendly farming subsidies.

The Government have cut funding for national parks by 40% in real terms over the last decade, leaving our most precious nature sites in crisis. Their plan to make up the shortfall is “through private investment”, without giving any further detail on what that will look like. They also failed to set new 2030 biodiversity targets in line with their legal requirements under the Environment Act 2021, and there is no current suggestion of when these will be set. Perhaps the Minister can comment on this in his remarks.

The Labour Party has committed to putting the environment and climate at the heart of its agenda and delivering nature-positive action which halts and reverses the loss of biodiversity by 2030, for the benefit of all people on the planet, as is the ask of the Bill. That element of reversing will make the real difference between the Government’s position and what is necessary. The Environment Act commits to halt species decline but fails to reverse decline and does not tackle broader biodiversity loss.

Without revisiting all the discussion at Second Reading, again I ask the Minister to tell us about progress towards a plan to tackle these messages. Also, where is the positive engagement strategy? Taking the public with us is so important in this agenda and, as we have discussed previously, a wider communication and education strategy is so important as we go forward.

The Government should back the Bill and commit fully to what is necessary to save our natural environment.

Energy White Paper

Baroness Hooper Excerpts

Wednesday 16th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

The noble Baroness is right to point out the challenges but, of course, what we require is probably a combination of all these different strategies. Further work will be needed to understand the full extent of the changes that are required to transition the national gas infrastructure to carry hydrogen and to understand the associated costs. Not all properties are suitable for the use of heat pumps, but we are working closely with the gas industry and stakeholders to develop a programme of works to assess the safety, feasibility costs and benefits of using low-carbon hydrogen as an alternative to natural gas.

[Baroness Hooper (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I welcome the White Paper and the Prime Minister’s avowed intention to make the UK the Saudi Arabia of offshore wind power; indeed, I welcome the White Paper’s target of 40 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. However, this will clearly require the construction of many more huge wind turbines. Can my noble friend tell us about the supply chains for the construction of offshore wind turbines? How much of the technology and manufacture will be uniquely British, and how much will we be dependent on imports?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My noble friend makes a very good point. We will invest in the growth of the UK’s renewable manufacturing base to stimulate the UK’s supply chain. We will also support the delivery of the industry’s target of 60% of UK content in offshore wind projects by 2030 through requiring developers that are awarded a contract for difference to honour the supply chain plan that they put forward. We will put the UK at the forefront of manufacturing for wind turbines and, to support this growing industry, we will invest £160 million in modern ports and manufacturing infrastructure, providing high-quality jobs in our coastal regions.

Comprehensive Economic Partnership (EUC Report)

Baroness Hooper Excerpts

Thursday 26th November 2020 Grand Committee

[Baroness Hooper (Con)]

My Lords, although I am not a member of the committee which prepared this report, as a recently appointed trade envoy for three central American countries—Panama, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic—I am naturally interested in the very important scrutiny procedures which we will now have to carry out. I congratulate the noble and learned Lord, Lord Goldsmith, and his committee on producing this report in record time. This debate, and yesterday’s in the House of Commons, are therefore very useful in raising issues that need further clarification and, indeed, in emphasising the importance of completing the EU trade agreement.

I should also flag up the fact that I am a long-time vice-chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Japan, so I am fully aware of the cultural links and the good will which exist between our two countries. This, I believe, will be helpful in interpreting the deal in the future and in resolving any disputes that may arise.

As the 18th speaker in this debate, I am aware that many of the questions which I had in mind have been well aired, so I will confine myself to three. First, on the ongoing analysis and monitoring that are envisaged, the analysis which caught my eye and on which the deal was based suggests that there will be a trade increase of £15.7 billion and an increase in UK workers’ wages of £800 million, compared with the 2019 levels. That is quite a statement. What procedures are envisaged to check that these statements are fulfilled? Will it be left to Parliament to initiate debates and question Ministers or are the Government committed to regular reporting?

Secondly, since we recognise that trade agreements by themselves do not create trade, it is a question of boots on the ground; my noble friend Lord Lilley underlined this and the noble Baroness, Lady Liddell, also talked on this front. In terms of trade promotion for SMEs in particular, what plans do the Government have to encourage SMEs to get involved? I believe that on the whole the big boys can look after themselves but SMEs certainly need support and, as a result, may be able to take advantage of some of the new niche business opportunities that are made available as a result of this agreement.

Thirdly and finally, I am tempted to raise the issue of energy. As the Energy Minister in your Lordships’ House way back in the 1980s when we were privatising the electricity industry, we stood shoulder to shoulder with Japan on the subject of nuclear energy being a clean energy. There was a particularly memorable meeting of the IAEA—the International Atomic Energy Agency—in Paris when Sweden was urging the closing down of all nuclear production, when that relationship was very useful. But in the context of today and of this debate, green energy and renewables have to be at the forefront. What are the Government’s expectations on this front?

Trade Bill

Baroness Hooper Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading (Hansard) & 2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Tuesday 8th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hooper (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I add my good wishes and congratulations to the Minister and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Blackburn on their excellent maiden speeches.

Since I participated in the consideration of last year’s Trade Bill, and as things have moved on since then, it was most helpful to hear from the Minister the ways in which this Bill differs. I hope and trust that many of the forceful arguments raised in your Lordships’ House then have influenced the Bill before us—although that is not obvious.

Many of the things which I welcome and support have already been said and, in the short time available, I shall only emphasise that I agree with the argument that a trade agreement in itself does not create trade. We need boots on the ground, fully equipped with enthusiasm, perseverance and appropriate languages, but a trade group agreement can facilitate trade, and it is perhaps worth noting at this point that a double tax treaty can also make a difference. As many of your Lordships know, I have an interest and involvement in the countries of Latin America and am president of the All-Party Group on Latin America. In that context, I am interested not only in the continuity of trade agreements, but in developing and enhancing them. I am delighted that the agreement with Chile is one of the 20 agreements already ratified, but can the Minister give us any information on continuity regarding the EU-Mercosur agreement? After years of negotiation in which we were fully involved, it appears to be close to completion, but not within our membership timetable. Since important markets in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay await us, and since under the EU-Mercosur rules we cannot enter into unilateral agreements with individual countries, I would welcome the Minister’s views on future plans.

Finally, I welcome the Government’s assurances that powers in this Bill will not be used to reduce standards. In the good old days of our membership of the European Union, we were rather given to gold-plating EU rules and regulations in any event—for example, on paternity leave, flexible working and one of the strictest ivory bans in the world. That approach augurs well for the future. In the past, the Government could blame Brussels if anything went wrong, so I hope that they are now ready to face the future without a scapegoat. I hope and feel sure that your Lordships’ scrutiny of the Bill will ensure that it leaves the House a better Bill.

Environmental Projects

Baroness Hooper Excerpts

Thursday 2nd July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan]

We are committing resources to all those issues. We are already investing up to £121 million in hydrogen innovation, supporting a range of projects exploring the potential of low-carbon hydrogen for use in heating and transport and the production of low-carbon hydrogen with CCUS and electrolysis technologies.

[Baroness Hooper (Con)]

My Lords, it is good to be back in the Chamber. Does my noble friend agree that all stimulus packages would benefit from a green sheen and that all the capital investment projects referred to by the Prime Minister—from schools to prisons to roads—could now take advantage of this opportunity to build a greener future? In this context, can he assure us that the British Overseas Territories, which contribute so much to our consequence in biodiversity terms, should not be forgotten when they apply for funding for environmental projects, especially as much of their previous green funding came from the European Union? Of course, many of these overseas territories could also contribute to the development of green finance, in which the City of London is leading the field.

[Lord Callanan]

I welcome my noble friend back to the Chamber. I agree with her that we are committed to building back better and greener. I am sure the overseas territories will have an important role to play in that, and of course we will consider requests for funding from them.

Covid-19: Business

Baroness Hooper Excerpts

Wednesday 13th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan]

I thank the noble Lord for his question. As I have said in response to earlier questions, we keep these schemes under constant monitoring and assessment. We are always open to modifying or extending them if it proves necessary.

[Baroness Hooper (Con)]

My Lords, in the international context, can my noble friend tell us what consideration is being given to helping firms and businesses whose trade depends on imports and exports? For example, is there any special advice relating to transport, particularly given the crisis in air transport? Are British embassies overseas being fully kept up to speed on all developments and requirements in this area, because this is also important and relevant to small and medium-sized enterprises?

[Lord Callanan]

The noble Baroness makes some very good points. In my view, it is essential that all businesses experiencing increased costs and disrupted cash flow as a result of the virus are supported. The FCO is working to monitor closely coronavirus throughout the world and we are using our diplomatic network to do our utmost to help all British companies.