COP30

Debate between Ed Miliband and Claire Young

Tuesday 25th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

My hon. Friend speaks incredibly well about this issue, and it is worth pausing and recognising what she has said. Since I have been involved in this issue, all the way back to David Cameron—I call him my nemesis—there has been a competition in this House for climate ambition. That was good, and it was recognised across the world—that was when the Conservative party won elections. My hon. Friend has said something really important; the sooner we can get back to that, the better. I do not think the British people want a culture war on climate. They do not want an imported US-style culture war, and the sooner the Conservative party recognises that, the better.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

Increasing the sustainability of agriculture is a vital part of action on climate change, and it was particularly relevant at a COP held in the rainforest, which is under pressure from farming. Can the Secretary of State outline the discussions he had at COP on agriculture, and will he work with his colleagues in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to reverse this Government’s mistakes and provide UK farmers with the financial support they need to play their part?

[Ed Miliband]

We are making big investments in farming and agriculture. In answering the hon. Lady’s question, I will take the opportunity to pay tribute to the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Coventry East (Mary Creagh), and the Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Leeds North West (Katie White), who are both with me on the Front Bench. They were part of the negotiations and discussions, including on agriculture and the question of methane. The UK produced its methane action plan in the run-up to COP; methane reduction is an area where we can make quick progress that can have real benefit in bridging the gap to 1.5°C. There were definitely extensive discussions on that; the world made progress on methane and it is something that we will keep working on in the months ahead.

Nuclear Power: Investment

Debate between Ed Miliband and Claire Young

Tuesday 10th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

I definitely believe that Sheffield Forgemasters has an incredibly important role to play in our civil nuclear programme. Contractual details for Rolls-Royce and our discussions with the company are for a bit down the road, but in my view, Forgemasters is central to our plans.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

Happy birthday, Mr Speaker. Oldbury in my constituency is one of the sites under consideration for SMRs, and I have been told many times that it has many factors going for it, including GB Nuclear’s ownership of it, the nuclear expertise in higher education locally, its existing nuclear history and the potential for co-ordination with the Berkeley site. Given that the old nuclear power station has already been decommissioned, the local community wants to know what the future looks like. Will the Secretary of State confirm that Oldbury is still in the running and will he give a timeline for the decision?

[Ed Miliband]

As part of the process that we go to from here, Great British Energy Nuclear will look at what is the right place for the SMR fleet and, absolutely, Oldbury is one of the candidates.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ed Miliband and Claire Young

Tuesday 29th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

Through my work on the Select Committee, I have heard repeated concerns from industry leaders that existing workers in their 50s and 60s see no point in retraining because they believe they will see out their careers supporting old technologies. That has a knock-on impact on young entrants to the workforce, who have traditionally learnt their skills from more experienced workers. Will the Secretary of State outline what steps he is taking to incentivise retraining to support growth in the renewable energy sector?

[Ed Miliband]

The hon. Lady raises a really important point. That is why we are working with the Department for Education to make sure we do not just have a clean power plan that will help to create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country and invest in supply chains, which I talked about earlier, but crucially offer opportunities for younger workers and inspire them about the possibilities that are available, and create opportunities for older workers, too. All that work is ongoing in Government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ed Miliband and Claire Young

Tuesday 18th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

Although the Leader of the Opposition thinks that achieving net zero is impossible without “bankrupting us”, investment in low carbon energy for communities such as Severn Beach in my constituency could create valuable skilled jobs. What steps will the Government take to ensure that the area around the River Severn will get the investment that it needs to realise its potential?

[Ed Miliband]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right on that. The Opposition are off to the “Wacky Races” when it comes to net zero. We in the Labour party know the truth: net zero is the economic opportunity of the 21st century and, under this Government, we will seize it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ed Miliband and Claire Young

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

T6. To achieve net zero, we will need widespread micro-generation alongside large-scale projects. However, as a local farmer who wanted to install an anaerobic digester told me, grid connections are both costly and subject to long delays. What does the Secretary of State plan to do to address these issues, particularly in rural areas such as my Thornbury and Yate constituency?

[Ed Miliband]

The hon. Lady raises a question about the problems of grid connection that is familiar to many Members. We are building on work done by Nick Winser, the former electricity networks commissioner, and we want to go further to tackle the problem of grid connections once and for all.

Contracts for Difference

Debate between Ed Miliband and Claire Young

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

To be helpful to Members, I gently point out that it is important that they be here for the start of a statement if they wish to be called to ask a question. I will be very kind today. I call Claire Young.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. The latest allocation round is good news and should be welcomed, especially after the fiasco of the last round. It is vital that Britain invests in our sustainable green energy production, so that we can guarantee our energy security and lead the world as a green powerhouse. However, the only way that we can achieve that is if we also push ahead with energy storage and ensure that we boost our capacity to retain the energy that is generated, so what steps is the Department taking to accelerate the roll-out of new storage solutions, including green hydrogen?

[Ed Miliband]

The hon. Lady, whom I welcome to her place, makes an important point. We often get questions about what to do in an intermittent system. We need different forms of both dispatchable power and energy storage. One project that my Department is working on—continuing some of the work of the previous Government—is long-duration energy storage and battery technology. Personally, I think that the system continues to underestimate the potential role of battery and long-duration storage, and we will say more about that in the months ahead.