Oral Answers to Questions

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Tuesday 28th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Bowie]

The Secretary of State is following a well-established planning process. I am sorry that I cannot say any more about this live case beyond what I have said already; it is with the Department and the Secretary of State for a decision.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

9. What assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the Climate Change Committee’s 2023 progress report to Parliament.

[The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Claire Coutinho)]

The Climate Change Committee itself has said that there was “no material difference” in our overall projections after we made the changes to policies in September. The Government have taken considerable further steps since then, including our introduction of the zero-emission vehicle mandate, our agreement with Tata Steel on industrial electrification in Port Talbot, and reform of electricity grid connections.

[Afzal Khan]

The Climate Change Committee has stated that the UK needs to

“regain its international climate leadership”,

but last year the Prime Minister was uninterested in attending COP27. The committee’s recent report to Parliament made it clear that the UK was

“no longer a climate leader”.

Since then we have seen approval for massive oilfields, weakened climate targets, and the resignation of a Minister because the Prime Minister is so “uninterested”. COP28 is days away, and there is still confusion over whether the Government will push for the phasing out of fossil fuels. Given all that, is it not fair to say that the Government are failing to do everything possible to halt the climate breakdown?