Oral Answers to Questions

Nadia Whittome Excerpts
Tuesday 21st May 2024

(7 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Andrew Bowie Portrait Andrew Bowie
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As the hon. Gentleman knows, I am keen to ensure that every part of our great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland benefits from the expansion of nuclear power and the benefits that it can bring, not only for meeting our net zero objectives but for the economies in which these small modular reactors will be built. I would be happy to meet him at any time to explore what benefits can be accrued in Northern Ireland from the expansion of our nuclear capacity here in the UK.

Nadia Whittome Portrait Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) (Lab)
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13. What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the High Court judgment of 3 May 2024 relating to the Government’s carbon budget delivery plan.

Justin Tomlinson Portrait The Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero (Justin Tomlinson)
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The Government are immensely proud of our record on climate change. We have cut emissions faster than any other G20 country over the last decade. The judgment contains no criticism of our detailed plans or the policies themselves, which will keep the UK on track to meet net zero by 2050.

Nadia Whittome Portrait Nadia Whittome
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The Government have a legal and moral duty to meet our carbon emissions target. Failure to do so would consign my generation, and generations after mine, to a future of climate catastrophe, so it is beyond a joke that the Government’s carbon budget delivery plan has now been ruled unlawful, not just once but twice. When will the Minister tell the flat earthers sitting behind him to stop trying to make net zero a culture war issue, and instead deliver a transition that both meets our climate obligations and improves people’s living standards?

Justin Tomlinson Portrait Justin Tomlinson
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Our carbon budget delivery plan has over 300 detailed policies. We are recognised as a leader internationally, having already cut emissions by half—the first major economy to do so—with a further ambitious target to get to 68% by 2030, compared with just 55% for the shadow Secretary of State’s beloved EU.