Further Education Colleges (North-east)
Debate between Edward Leigh and Helen Goodman(8 years, 10 months ago)
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Sir Edward Leigh (in the Chair)
I was going to call the hon. Lady to wind up at the end if she wants to, so does she want to let others come in first?
Paris Climate Change Conference
Debate between Edward Leigh and Helen Goodman
Sir Edward Leigh
I am happy to accept that. I do not want to weary the House by referring to the paragraph, but the Pope does endorse action on climate change. That is a relatively small part of the encyclical and it must not be seen in the context of the political debate. The hon. Member for Bishop Auckland was right to mention conferences and what is going on in Paris, but I do not think that the Pope is concentrating on that. What he is concentrating on, fundamentally, is the theme that we are part of nature. The debate around climate change relates to his profound belief that we are part of nature and connected to nature, and that we are abusing the world. Because we are abusing the world, we are abusing ourselves. I think that that is what he is trying to say, and that is what I am trying to explain to the House in my very inadequate way.
Helen Goodman
The hon. Gentleman has obviously thought deeply about these matters and has given more of the theology than I did. However, the Pope does talk about the need for more effective international action and he does decry what we politicians have done up to now.