COP28
Debate between Amanda Solloway and Tobias Ellwood(12 months ago)
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Amanda Solloway
Of course we are committed to doing other things as well, which is what I am reiterating. We have a commitment to making sure that we learn from research and development, and that we are looking at offshore wind, but we also need to be realistic, which is why we are looking at oil and gas. It will have an impact on the economy and it will help towards a greener economy because of the investment that will be made through the oil and gas finance.
Mr Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East) (Con)
Climate change is the single biggest threat to humanity, and I will be looking forward to attending COP28 myself. I am pleased that it is taking place in the middle east, given the need to transition away from fossil fuels. We seem to forget our own history, because it was us—in Persia, in Mesopotamia and on the Arab peninsula—that got the middle east on to the road of oil and gas exploration. Does my hon. Friend agree that we are able to get our CO2 emissions down today because of the offshore wind farms in the English channel, and that those are the result of a lot of investment from the United Arab Emirates?
Amanda Solloway
It is always a great pleasure to listen to my right hon. Friend, who reminds us of the history and of how we got to this point. However, we need to acknowledge all the good things that we are doing, and I reiterate that we are looking at ensuring sure that we have a secure energy future.