Debates between Baroness Verma and Lord Blencathra during the 2010-2015 Parliament

Tue 13th Sep 2011

Rainforests

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Blencathra
Tuesday 13th September 2011

(12 years, 9 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Blencathra Portrait Lord Blencathra
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Does my noble friend agree that biodiversity and loss of species are even more important than climate change? With a huge amount of resources and tremendous effort, it is possible eventually to reverse climate change, but once a species is lost, it is gone for ever, and the damage could be irreparable. Does she also agree that this is not just a matter of polar bears, tigers or even red squirrels, but that many of the boring little unsexy species that could be lost by deforestation could actually be valuable to human life and existence?

Baroness Verma Portrait Baroness Verma
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My noble friend has put the case perfectly for why we need to work incredibly hard. That is why the UK has supported developing countries to participate in the United Nations study on the economics of ecosystems and biodiversity which estimates, as I have said, that the financial cost is immense but the cost to species is even greater, and the initial long-term impact will be on us.