Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 03 Nov 2020
Environment Bill (Ninth sitting)
"This point is fundamental. As drafted, the Bill has it as a subjective judgment by the Secretary of State. The hon. Gentleman’s amendment seeks to make it objective. In our system—this goes to the heart of the amendment, and many others—the Secretary of State and Ministers representing the Department are …..."Bim Afolami - View Speech
View all Bim Afolami (Con - Hitchin and Harpenden) contributions to the debate on: Environment Bill (Ninth sitting)
Written Question
Monday 20th July 2020
Asked by:
Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question
to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Government has to help ensure that the (a) Convention on Biological Diversity framework and (b) COP 26 are coordinated in (i) work on and (ii) approach to tackling biodiversity loss and climate change.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Biodiversity loss and climate change are interlinked crises and cannot be tackled in isolation. This is why nature will be one of the key areas of focus at UNFCCC COP26 in Glasgow and why we will be pushing for the agreement of ambitious global targets for biodiversity at CBD COP15 in China.
To amplify the linkages between the two agendas, at COP26 we will be encouraging countries to use nature based solutions as a way to tackle biodiversity loss and climate change including mobilising more finance for nature, investing in sustainable and resilient agriculture and protecting important ecosystems such as forests. We will work with China to ensure that the outcomes of both COPs are mutually supportive.
Written Question
Monday 20th July 2020
Asked by:
Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question
to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the UK is a global leader in policy advocacy for the conservation of nature.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
We are committed to ensuring that the UK leads the world to promote a green, fair and resilient global recovery from the impacts of Covid-19 and central to that is the importance of resetting the global relationship with nature.
We will support the adoption of ambitious and practical targets on nature at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity Summit (COP15) in China next May, strengthened by coherent implementation mechanisms that will deliver a new global biodiversity framework that is commensurate with the scale of the challenge. Nature is also a top priority for our upcoming Presidency of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference (COP26) next year and we are pushing for tangible and ambitious commitments from partner governments to champion nature and nature-based solutions. Given this, and the multi-faceted benefits of nature-based solutions, we are working with the Chinese Government, who are hosting COP15, to press for mutually reinforcing outcomes at the two Conferences. In addition, we will continue leading global ambition on conserving endangered species, following our hosting of the international Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference in 2018.
On marine biodiversity, we are driving forward efforts to protect and enhance the ocean and eliminate harmful fisheries practice as we have done domestically and in 2018 we launched the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance with Vanuatu, which now convenes 34 Commonwealth countries to tackle plastic pollution. We have also committed to a new, £500 million Blue Planet Fund, and are building on the ‘30by30’ campaign which the UK launched at the UN General Assembly in 2018, leading the Global Ocean Alliance calling to protect 30% of the world’s global ocean by 2030. This ambitious target is underpinned by domestic commitments through the Blue Belt Programme, which is on course to deliver over 4 million square kilometres of protected ocean around the British Overseas Territories by the end of 2020.
Our international leadership on nature must be underpinned by credible action at home. In England, our 25 Year Environment Plan marked a step change in ambition for nature and the natural environment. We are taking action to fulfil this ambition by introducing bold new legislation and new funding to support nature’s recovery.
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 17 Mar 2020
Environment Bill (Sixth sitting)
"I apologise, Sir Roger, for not indicating earlier that I wished to speak. I want to make a very quick point, which underpins quite a lot of my criticism of many of the amendments that have been tabled to this Bill.
This Bill is a framework measure. The Government have …..."Bim Afolami - View Speech
View all Bim Afolami (Con - Hitchin and Harpenden) contributions to the debate on: Environment Bill (Sixth sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 17 Mar 2020
Environment Bill (Sixth sitting)
"Bearing in mind that the Minister has already quoted from last week’s evidence sessions, does she agree that Professor Lewis made it very clear that, once we reached the target level mentioned in the amendment, the United Kingdom would not be fully in control of the target, and it would …..."Bim Afolami - View Speech
View all Bim Afolami (Con - Hitchin and Harpenden) contributions to the debate on: Environment Bill (Sixth sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Thu 12 Mar 2020
Environment Bill (Third sitting)
"Q Professor Lewis, I was very interested when you talked about the different chemical reactions and the effect of agriculture upon the PM2.5 particulates in the air, and how we should be fully aware that it is not just car exhaust fumes. Bearing that in mind, would you …..."Bim Afolami - View Speech
View all Bim Afolami (Con - Hitchin and Harpenden) contributions to the debate on: Environment Bill (Third sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Thu 12 Mar 2020
Environment Bill (Third sitting)
"And indeed the interaction between different bits.
Professor Lewis: It is a lot of detail, but the contribution from ammonia, for example, comes when it mixes with some of the end products of emissions from car exhausts. So you have two completely dissimilar sources that are not even geographically located …..."Bim Afolami - View Speech
View all Bim Afolami (Con - Hitchin and Harpenden) contributions to the debate on: Environment Bill (Third sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 10 Mar 2020
Environment Bill (Second sitting)
"Q I want to ask our visitors about regulatory complexity when it comes to environmental regulation. I do not know how many bodies there are, including Natural England and this new OEP. I would like you to describe how you feel it works. Do you think we need fewer? …..."Bim Afolami - View Speech
View all Bim Afolami (Con - Hitchin and Harpenden) contributions to the debate on: Environment Bill (Second sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 10 Mar 2020
Environment Bill (Second sitting)
"Q That makes sense to me, but do you not fear, as a lot of businesses, landowners and farmers do, that there are so many different types of environmental regulator that it is difficult to keep up? It creates its own inefficiencies. Might it be easier if we had …..."Bim Afolami - View Speech
View all Bim Afolami (Con - Hitchin and Harpenden) contributions to the debate on: Environment Bill (Second sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 10 Mar 2020
Environment Bill (Second sitting)
"Q You have anticipated my next question on the UK. Do you think it would be simpler, from a regulatory perspective, and more effective, if the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland devolved Governments worked with the Office for Environmental Protection that we are setting up, rather than setting up …..."Bim Afolami - View Speech
View all Bim Afolami (Con - Hitchin and Harpenden) contributions to the debate on: Environment Bill (Second sitting)