Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Deidre Brock Excerpts
Wednesday 20th October 2021

(2 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Alok Sharma Portrait Alok Sharma
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The hon. Lady raises an incredibly important point. I have a regular dialogue with representatives of the small island developing states. I have been clear that one thing we want to do through this presidency is champion them and the developing countries that are at the frontline of climate change.

Deidre Brock Portrait Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)
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It is good to hear that the COP President is interested in the challenges of those developing countries. Climate change’s most severe impacts fall heaviest on those developing countries that had least to do with causing it, and many consequences of climate change are already locked in, regardless of mitigation efforts. Given that, it is vital that COP26 includes an agreement on loss and damage compensation. Are the Government aiming for an equitable loss and damage agreement that compensates developing nations and recognises the disproportionate role of developed nations in causing that loss and damage?

Alok Sharma Portrait Alok Sharma
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Loss and damage is an issue that Ministers have debated at both the London ministerial meeting that I hosted and the pre-COP in Milan. Clearly, what comes forward at COP will be a consensus agreement, but I can tell the hon. Lady that we are determined to make sure that the Santiago Network is operationalised, and of course we will see that further discussions take place on this issue.