Oral Answers to Questions

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Tuesday 21st January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con)]

3. What progress her Department has made on tackling climate change.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

12. What progress her Department has made on tackling climate change.

[The Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth (Kwasi Kwarteng)]

I welcome and congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Redcar (Jacob Young) on winning his seat—a great result. We have reduced carbon emissions by more than 40% since 1990, while growing our economy by more than two thirds. We are currently decarbonising our economy faster than any other G20 country, and more than half our electricity now comes from low-carbon sources. We have the largest offshore wind capacity in the world.

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

Absolutely—I would be delighted to back Redcar’s big opportunities in CCUS. I was there last week when I had an instructive meeting with various stakeholders and industry professionals, and there is a huge economic opportunity.

[Harriett Baldwin]

Businesses such as Frank Matthews tree nursery in my constituency play a vital role in growing the trees that we will need to combat climate change. How will the Department ensure that the trees we plant are native, sustainable species?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

As my hon. Friend knows, the Government are absolutely behind such initiatives. We have a well-developed forest nursery sector, and we encourage the planting of UK-grown trees, as proven by our £640 million Nature4Climate fund. That builds on our support for preserving areas of great natural beauty, such as the Malvern hills in my hon. Friend’s constituency, and we hope to plant an additional 75,000 acres of trees a year by the end of the next Parliament.