Climate and Nature Bill

Charlotte Cane Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 24th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Charlotte Cane (Ely and East Cambridgeshire) (LD)]

I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests: I am an unpaid director of Reach community solar farm. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) on bringing this important Bill to the House, and on all the negotiations she has had to try to secure cross-party agreement on it.

I started campaigning on the environment quite a long time ago. My main concerns then were that whales were at risk of becoming extinct and we had a hole in the ozone layer. The international community came together and we now see that whale populations are increasing and the blue whale has been brought back from the brink of extinction. We also phased out chlorofluorocarbons and the ozone layer is repairing. So when we work together, we can achieve great things. I have been hugely impressed and encouraged by the cross-party agreement—with one or two exceptions—on the real need to move forward. I hope that we will not throw this away at the last minute. We have a way forward that would address a lot of these things.

We now know that our challenges are far greater and that we need to worry not just about other species’ survival, but about the survival of our own species. More frequent and damaging wildfires and floods are taking human lives as well as destroying property, farms and wildlife. In my constituency of Ely and East Cambridgeshire, farmers are having to contend with rapidly changing seasons.

[Rachel Gilmour]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill strives for that adaptation in farming, recognising the urgent need to develop agricultural resilience and sustainable farming practice, and actually offers true financial support, which would help our farmers?

--- Later in debate ---

[Charlotte Cane]

I agree with my hon. Friend and will come to that in a few minutes.

Wetter winters and drier summers mean that our farmers cannot plant when they plan to, and sometimes they miss a whole crop round. The crops do not fully ripen, so they have reduced harvests. The Ouse Washes flood earlier each winter and the floods last longer, which closes roads and cuts people off from schools and hospitals. Wildlife is hatching at the time it always has, but the food that it relies on is not there, or it cannot get access to water, so a generation dies.

The climate is changing for the worse, and we are already seeing the impacts around us. If we do not take action soon, many parts of the world will become uninhabitable for people, most animals, birds, insects, plants and even most aquatic life. My beautiful constituency will also be largely under water, and as if that was not bad enough, that water will probably be salt water, causing tremendous damage to people and wildlife.

Our fens have been the breadbasket of Britain since at least Roman times. They are also an amazing carbon sink. The Fenland soils group is meeting next week in its fifth annual conference to bring together farmers, academics, wildlife charities, national and local government and various other groups to consider how they can continue feeding the nation while keeping that carbon in our soils and making our soils healthier.

[Anna Dixon]

The hon. Lady talks about protecting a unique habitat. In my Shipley constituency we have peat bogs, the restoration of which is essential for limiting climate change. It is estimated that the Great North bog stores 400 million tonnes of carbon. The council is doing a lot to rewet those areas. Will she join me in commending these restoration projects?

[Charlotte Cane]

I absolutely commend those restoration projects in the right place. As I say, in the fens we need the food as well as the wetlands, so we have to do the right thing in the right places. Something I like about this Bill is that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Tiverton and Minehead (Rachel Gilmour) said, it provides support for farmers, so that when they come up with ideas for changing their farming practices, they have the funds to deliver them.

In the interest of time, I will just touch on one other aspect of the Bill that I think is particularly important, which is how addressing climate change and the transition has to take full consideration of the poorest in our communities. These are the people who live next to the most polluting roads; who live in flooding areas and cannot afford the insurance to help them after a flood; and who cannot afford to heat their houses because their homes are badly insulated and they still depend directly or indirectly on fossil fuels, which is very costly. It is so important to have these people at the centre of the Bill, because addressing climate change will help them to have a better life. We must ensure that the transition is fair, that it delivers jobs across the country and that it does not just keep putting financial burdens on people.

[Victoria Collins]

My hon. Friend’s point about bringing people with us is so important. Does she also support the Bill’s provisions on retraining, which will help us in the transition and moving forward?

--- Later in debate ---

[Charlotte Cane]

I agree entirely that we need to retrain in order to ensure that everyone can benefit from this transition.

[Pippa Heylings]

Does my hon. Friend agree with my constituent Freya, who says: “I am 15 and I am afraid. I can do things in the community, but unless we have joined-up Government action, we have no hope”? We have various Ministers here as a result of this private Member’s Bill, which addresses the yawning gap between Departments.

[Charlotte Cane]

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. Freya and the many other constituents I know have written to all of us should be assured that we are working together across this House.

In conclusion, I support the Bill entirely. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Cotswolds for working hard to get concessions from the Government and to get cross-party consensus. I ask hon. Members to hold that together and support the different aspects of the Bill.

Flood Preparedness: Norfolk

Charlotte Cane Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2024 Westminster Hall

[Charlotte Cane (Ely and East Cambridgeshire) (LD)]

Thank you, Sir Christopher, for chairing this important debate on flood preparedness in Norfolk. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for North Norfolk (Steff Aquarone) on securing this debate and on his excellent speech highlighting the many challenges to flood preparedness in Norfolk and across our region. Indeed, I congratulate all hon. Members from Norfolk and our region, and from other places in the country, on their speeches and the points that they have made. I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, in which I note that I am a member of East Cambridgeshire district council.

This debate highlights the region’s ongoing struggles with flooding, which are compounded by its low-lying landscapes and extensive waterways, and the impacts of climate change. The area’s rivers, broads and coastline are rightly cherished. When managed well, they mitigate and reduce flooding, but when under-managed they contribute to significant flooding risks. This issue, which has existed for centuries, requires sustained, co-ordinated efforts to prevent further damage, but without adequate long-term funding, local authorities and agencies are unable to implement effective long-term solutions.

Many Members have raised their constituents’ personal experiences, including the substantial financial losses faced by local businesses as a result of flood damage, and the stress facing people at risk of flooding. They have highlighted systemic issues, including the limited funding for agencies, which is allocated on an annual basis, preventing them from planning long-term projects. This debate stresses the need for a number of changes in Government policies, such as moving to multi-year budgets for flood prevention efforts and closer co-ordination between responsible bodies.

The fragmented approach to flood management, with responsibilities spread across various councils and agencies and some private individuals, is another significant barrier. Members have pointed out the inefficiencies and lack of co-ordination, calling for a more unified approach, much like that of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management in the Netherlands. We have even heard that Norfolk county council, despite being the lead flood authority, faces the absurdity of crafting detailed flood prevention plans without the financial backing to implement them.

The difficulties faced by local farmers, who struggle to access flood relief funds because of confusing and restrictive criteria, have also been raised today. Farmers already operating with slim profit margins face further hardships as flooding damages their crops or even prevents planting or harvesting.

Beyond the financial and logistical challenges, the mental health impact of flooding is significant. The constant fear of future flooding takes a toll on residents and on the workers involved in flood management. I share Members’ calls for more holistic support for both flood-affected communities and the people working to mitigate these issues.

As we have heard, the last Conservative Government slashed flood protection plans for homes and failed to invest in flood defences, leaving communities to fend for themselves. The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to bring forward £5.2 billion of flood defence spending to ensure that flood defences are built more quickly, and to ringfence funding allocations for flood risk management that works with nature.

[Cameron Thomas (Tewkesbury) (LD)]

It heartens me to hear Members across the House acknowledging the impacts of climate change on flooding in our constituencies. Will my hon. Friend join me in asking that the Government’s national planning policy framework accounts for areas prone to flooding, keeping our remaining floodplains undeveloped?

[Charlotte Cane]

I agree that we need to make sure that as we are planning and building, we take flood risk into account and ensure that we are properly mitigating it.

In her 2024 autumn Budget, the Chancellor committed £2.4 billion over the next couple of years for flood defences, but she added that significant funding pressures on this Budget meant that it would be necessary to review the plans for 2025-26. It is crucial that this funding is committed in the long term to allow communities to create sustainable flood preparedness plans for years to come.

The Liberal Democrats support the Climate and Nature Bill, which was introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage), because it will restore the natural environment through the large-scale restoration of peatland, heathland, native woodland, salt marshes, wetlands and coastal waters. That will absorb carbon, protect against floods, improve water quality and protect habitats. The Liberal Democrats would also implement new planning powers to require sustainable drainage systems to be installed.

[Sir Christopher Chope (in the Chair)]

Order. I cannot order the hon. Lady to sit down, but we should comply with the convention for one-hour debates: Opposition spokesmen should have five minutes each and the Minister should have 10 minutes to respond.

[Charlotte Cane]

I am sorry, Sir Christopher. I will draw my remarks to a close.