Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Stephen Morgan

Thursday 21st October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

8. What recent discussions she has had with UK trade partners on inserting clauses on environmental standards into future trade deals.

[The Secretary of State for International Trade (Anne-Marie Trevelyan)]

The UK is seeking ambitious environmental provisions in all future trade deals, including those which preserve our high levels of environmental protection and ensure our trade and environment policies are mutually supportive. Negotiations, including with both Australia and New Zealand, are progressing and the UK is also preparing for the next phase of negotiations, including with India, Mexico and Canada.

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

Last week, a leaked document drawn up by departmental officials revealed that it was the Government’s policy to prioritise economic growth over climate protection in the UK’s trade deals. If the Minister says that is not a true reflection of the Department’s negotiating priorities, can she explain why it was written by departmental officials and distributed across Whitehall just days ago?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

Our ambitious trade deal with Australia, for instance, includes a substantive article that affirms both parties’ commitments to address climate change, making clear our commitments mutually to the United Nations framework convention on climate change, the Paris agreement and the achievement of all those goals. We will continue to have that and more detail as we make new trade deals.

--- Later in debate ---

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

Absolutely. The Global Investment Summit, which we hosted earlier this week in London, saw 200 of the world’s most important investors coming to London to hear how they could be part of the UK’s world leadership in green technologies; £6 billion of investment was committed to offshore wind and millions to many, many different new technologies. We had the opportunity to showcase many of the UK’s leading future solutions to our green challenge and we look forward to continuing to increase that inward investment to help us to deliver them.

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

Will the Department agree to consider evidence gathered by the Environmental Audit Committee’s inquiry into carbon border taxes or, better still, initiate an inquiry of its own?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

This is an important area of policy. I would be very happy to sit down and discuss the Committee’s findings. It will continue to be a key area post COP26 as through the UNFCCC system we try to find something that can work across the planet, to make sure that we can be as effective as possible in using carbon pricing to help drive the green solutions that we all need.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Stephen Morgan

Tuesday 6th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

My hon. Friend is right that there was a long gap in respect of investment in UK, but I am pleased that the Prime Minister’s leadership has reset that. We are working closely with industry and the skills bodies to make sure that as we grow our nuclear industry again, we better understand the skills requirements and challenges faced by the industry. EDF’s latest estimate suggests that the number of people working on the Hinkley project will peak at around 8,500. That is a fantastic local employment story and, given EDF’s plans to replicate HPC at its next project, Sizewell C in Suffolk, we expect to see employment benefits transfer to that project, creating thousands of jobs in that local area.

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

When he plans to make a decision on the proposed AQUIND energy interconnector project.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Stephen Morgan

Wednesday 24th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

We are leading the way in making sure that we do that as part of our building back better and greener. I am co-chairing, with the Department for Education, a green jobs taskforce, to make sure we are able both to upskill and to train all the new skills that are going to be needed for those new industries.

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab) [V]]

Improving air quality is an essential part of our work to tackle the climate emergency, yet the Government refused to back Labour’s call to make sure that air quality targets meet World Health Organisation guidelines by 2030. What will the Minister do to ensure that we are truly world-leading in our efforts to reduce emissions?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

As President Sharma has set out, we are absolutely world-leading in tackling our carbon dioxide emissions, and part of the work with our landmark Environment Bill will be in getting to grips with this and leading again worldwide, so that others can follow on air quality.