Oral Answers to Questions

Catherine McKinnell Excerpts

Thursday 1st December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

9. What steps he is taking to secure agreement on climate finance in advance of the Durban climate change conference.

[The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Chris Huhne)]

There are three main elements. On fast-start finance to developing countries, I am proud to say that the Government are on track to deliver our £1.5 billion pledge. We want other donors to do the same. On long-term sources of climate finance, we are at the forefront of pushing for new sources of public and private finance and we want others to join us there too. Lastly, we will push for the green climate fund to be operationalised in Durban as part of a balanced outcome to the negotiations.

[Catherine McKinnell]

I thank the Secretary of State for that answer, but recent press reports suggest that countries might not be able to reach an agreement at Durban even on the green climate fund, which had been the only realistic expected outcome prior to the summit. What steps are the UK Government taking to ensure that countries reach an agreement on the structure, operation and finance of the fund?

[Chris Huhne]

My officials are working diligently on that. We want as many outcomes at Durban to operationalise the agreements at Cancun as we can get. I do not agree with the hon. Lady that that is the only potential outcome. One of the most important things we can hope to get out of Durban if the talks go well is a commitment from all parties to ensure that we have an overarching legal framework. We can negotiate that and we could also respect the science by ensuring that we peak global emissions by 2020.