Storm Henk

Debate between Robbie Moore and Richard Graham

Monday 8th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Robbie Moore]

I am always up for removing red tape where necessary. I commend my hon. Friend for being a doughty champion for his constituents, because I think this is the fifth time that he has mentioned Pakefield to me, not least in the Westminster Hall debate that he secured just before Christmas to discuss this issue. As he knows, I am more than happy to have a detailed conversation with him and his colleagues along the Norfolk and Suffolk coastline.

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

The flooding Minister visited Alney Island in Gloucester early this morning. I thank him, the Environment Agency, the city council and all who helped mitigate the situation. Some 80 homes in Gloucester have been flooded—one home is one too many, but that compares with more than 5,000 homes and businesses flooded in 2007 with very similar water levels, 48,000 people without electricity and 135,000 without drinking water for a week. The huge investment into the defences for Mythe waterworks, Walham substation, Horsbere brook and the Westgate drainage scheme, and other aspects of the Conservative Government’s Pitt review, have made a massive difference. Will my hon. Friend commit to looking closely at the Severn partnership’s proposals for a strategic new reservoir to hold back water in Wales in due course?

[Robbie Moore]

First, I thank my hon. Friend for inviting me to Gloucester this morning. It was an excellent visit to meet his residents and speak with those who have experienced flooding on Alney Island. It was clear that the investment that this Government put in place and the flood improvement measures put in place in 2006 have worked up until now, but we know the implications when the River Severn catchment is as saturated as it has been. I am willing to meet not only him but the other 38 colleagues who form the caucus, to put a strategic plan in place for the whole River Severn catchment.

COP26: Limiting Global Temperature Rises

Debate between Robbie Moore and Richard Graham

Thursday 21st October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Robbie Moore (Keighley) (Con)]

It gives me enormous pleasure to speak in this place before an event of such magnitude. The agenda and discussions at the COP26 summit in just a couple of weeks’ time will be centred, quite rightly, around global vision, yet the outcomes that I believe we all want to see, and must enact, have to be at a local level across every city, town, village and community across our country.

I would like to draw the House’s attention, not for the first time in this place, to what is going on in my constituency, which I and all my constituents are so passionate about. We want to ensure that we leave this planet in a much better state than we found it for the next generation. I think of the great work that has been done on cleaning up the River Wharfe in my constituency, protecting our precious green open spaces and lobbying hard against the Aire valley incinerator, which I have spoken about many a time in this place. We have been able to make great progress on these challenges, which I face locally, but there are also many great initiatives that are happening. I pay credit to Climate Action Ilkley and businesses such as Airedale Springs, which has already taken great measures, putting solar panels on the business’s buildings so that they can provide green energy to support what it is doing.

The spirit of my constituents is exactly the attitude that I will take when I go to COP next month to speak on the benefits of regenerative agriculture and improving soil health and water quality through such farming techniques. We have already seen the great work being done in this place domestically, and it was a great pleasure to support the Environment Bill yesterday as it moves through this place. When it is passed, it will ensure that we have cleaner rivers, better air quality and more woodland planting.

The Government have also given their 10-point plan an airing with respect to how we will get the green industrial revolution moving, but our work in the fight against climate change cannot be contained to these shores. That is why the Government must use the COP26 presidency to get other countries in line with our environmental objectives. They have already made great progress through the G7 summit in Cornwall earlier this year under the leadership of the Prime Minister.

[Richard Graham]

My hon. Friend is making some powerful points about what we need to do. On non-fossil fuel energy and domestic security and supply, does he agree that we should be doing lots more on nuclear, including with small modular reactors, and on marine energy, harnessing the power of tides and waves in our own country?

[Robbie Moore]

I completely agree. Small modular reactors definitely need to be explored and can definitely be a positive mechanism for our country to drive forward green, clean energy, which will help many of our communities. It comes back to the point that we want to have a positive impact across every city, every town, every village and every community that we represent.

As a result of the leadership shown by our Prime Minister at the G7, we have managed to get a commitment to limiting the global rise in temperature to 1.5°, achieving net zero and supporting developing countries to be greener. At COP26, the Government need to take a tougher stance on ensuring that other countries play their part in achieving those objectives, but not be complicit in doing so.

As a nation, we have shown that being more environmentally friendly need not come at a cost to national finances. In fact, over the past three decades, our economy has grown by 78%, while emissions have reduced by 44%. There is no excuse for other countries not to follow our lead. The United Kingdom should not be afraid to push the point.