Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will list the project (a) title, (b) code, (c) Overseas Development Assistance value and (d) International Climate Finance value of all Blue Belt Programme expenditure in the (i) 2021-22, (ii) 2022-23, (iii) 2023-24 and (iv) 2024-25 financial years.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
From Financial Year (FY) 21/22 to FY 24/25, the Blue Belt Programme was funded through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's International Programme. For each of these FYs, the budget for the Programme was £8 million, of which £2 million was Overseas Development Assistance. Annual reports, which set out the main activities conducted through the programme, are available on the GOV.UK Blue Belt Programme webpage, with the 24/25 report due to be published in the summer. The Blue Belt Programme does not receive funding from International Climate Finance.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will list the (a) title (b) location and (c) value of projects funded by the Green Climate Fund as part of the International Climate Finance spend on nature and biodiversity.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Details, including title, location, and value, of all projects funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) are available on the Fund's website: [https://www.greenclimate.fund/countries]. The GCF's Open Data Library, is also available via the website.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with energy suppliers on support for consumers that (a) are not connected to the gas grid and (b) rely on alternative costly fuels in (i) South East Cornwall and (ii) other rural and coastal areas.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently, including those who are not on the gas grid. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.
We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we are delivering the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households this winter. In February, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million. The consultation has now closed and the Department is evaluating the responses.
I have been clear with suppliers that they should do all they can to support their customers who are struggling with their bills. I recommend that any consumers who are struggling with their bills should contact their supplier, local authority, or Citizens Advice to see what support they may be able to receive.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions he has had with his Brazilian counterpart on UK-Brazil efforts to halt global deforestation.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As the world’s largest rainforest country, Brazil is an important partner to the UK on driving action to tackle deforestation. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero engages regularly with Brazilian counterparts. He was fortunate enough to visit the Brazilian Amazon last summer, to see how the UK has worked in partnership with Brazil to support local communities in combating climate change and securing sustainable livelihoods. Securing a sustainable future for rainforests will help to protect British citizens from climate change and to maintain secure supply chains for food and other essentials.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Chinese counterparts on UK-China efforts to halt global deforestation.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The recent visit by the Secretary of State gave the opportunity to discuss issues that matter to the UK with senior levels of the Chinese government, including areas such as forests, NDCs and multilateral negotiations.
The UK and China have agreed to hold a UK-China Climate Dialogue and a UK-China Environment Dialogue later this year to accelerate action to tackle the global climate and biodiversity crises. The details of the Dialogues will be confirmed in due course. The UK remains committed to working with all international partners to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the European Chemical Agency's decision to restrict per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We actively monitor measures being considered in other jurisdictions to inform possible approaches in the UK, including the European Chemical Agency’s proposals for PFAS restrictions. The Health and Safety Executive is due to publish its dossier investigating whether to restrict the use, manufacture and sale of PFAS in fire fighting foams soon, for a six-month consultation. This dossier has included extensive analysis of risks and hazards of PFAS that are relevant to other uses and sets a firm foundation for further investigation of PFAS risks in Great Britain. Other work is continuing across Government to help us assess levels of PFAS occurring in the environment, their sources and potential risks to inform future measures.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prepare for the UK-China Environment Dialogue in 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working with China’s Ministry of Ecology and the Environment to agree the timing and scope of an Environmental Dialogue, in line with our commitment to do so within 12 months of the signing of the Environment Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two parties in October 2024.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of implementing Schedule 17 of the Environment Act before the 30th session of the Conference of the Parties to UNFCCC (COP 30) in November 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK strongly supports global efforts to protect forests, including advocating for the international commitment to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, while supporting livelihoods and economic development.
We will set out our approach to addressing deforestation in the UK’s supply chains in due course.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress his Department has made on the implementation of 10 Point Plan for financing biodiversity; and if he plans to publish an update on implementation before the 30th session of the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 30) in November 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The 10 Point Plan (10PP) for Financing Biodiversity was launched in December 2022 by the former government and preceded agreement of the comprehensive Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).
This government is committed to delivering on all the KMGBF targets, including those related to the mobilisation of finance for biodiversity. Most recently at the 16th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD CoP16) we published the Biodiversity Trends Dashboard to help track progress towards meeting nature finance targets. We expect to update this prior to UNFCCC COP30. We also secured the new Cali Fund which will help ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic information derived from nature - directly supporting Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The UK government also co-sponsored the International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits (IAPB), alongside France, helping to deliver a Framework for High Integrity Biodiversity Credit Markets.
Our seventh UK national report under the CBD will provide an update on our progress in delivering the KMGBF targets. This is due by February 2026.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will list the project (a) title, (b) code and (c) cost of International Climate Finance projects under the international forest (i) indigenous peoples and local communities, (ii) Congo basin and (ii) Amazon pledge in (A) 2021-22, (B) 2022-23, (C) 2023-24 and (D) 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
At COP26, the UK committed £1.5 billion International Climate Finance (ICF) for forests from April 2021 to March 2026, including £200 million for the Congo Basin (to 2029) and £300 million for the Amazon. This forms the UK's contribution toward the Global Forest Finance Pledge, Congo Basin Pledge, and Indigenous People and Local Communities Forest Tenure Pledge. The UK invested £682 million over financial years 2021/22 (£155 million), 2022/23 (£200 million), 2023/24 (£327 million). Data is not yet finalised for 2024/2025. The UK Government publishes detail of ICF programmes through our online resource DevTracker and pledge reports can also be found online for consultation.