Climate Change: UN Conference

Lord Bishop of St Albans Excerpts

Wednesday 7th January 2015 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the agreement reached at the United Nations climate change conference in Lima in December 2014.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Baroness Verma) (Con)]

My Lords, we secured the basis for everything that the UK Government want in the final agreement. We agreed that countries’ emissions reductions contributions must represent a progression on their current level of effort and be accompanied by information to facilitate understanding. We made progress in elaborating elements of the draft negotiating text and achieved a good result on climate finance by leveraging the UK’s leadership to help get more from other countries.

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans]

I thank the Minister for her Answer. I know that many people were very disappointed at the outturn of the talks. Is she aware of the little booklet produced by the Royal Society, A Short Guide to Climate Science, which assesses some of the scientific evidence and answers some of the concerns of those who believe that this is not a significant problem for us today? Can she assure the House that Her Majesty’s Government will give a bold moral lead among the international community as we prepare for the talks in December in Paris, so that we can get a significant breakthrough later in the year based on this solid scientific evidence?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the right reverend Prelate is absolutely right that we need to show leadership. I am aware of the Royal Society’s recent publication A Short Guide to Climate Science and very much welcome its conclusions. It is an excellent and highly accessible summary of climate science and I recommend that those who are interested in the subject should read it. I would also like to assure the right reverend Prelate that this Government are absolutely committed to taking the lead and securing a science-led, binding agreement in Paris in December. We have worked very hard to ensure that other countries are working with us.