(1 month ago)
Commons ChamberOn the second point, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy). On the first point, I think she is being a little unfair, to put it mildly, on the UK. We led the process of agreeing last year an ambitious NCQG on overall finance. We were part of an agreement that saw the trebling of adaptation finance by 2035, targeting those resources. She knows the fiscal situation that we face as a country. I say very clearly to her, and to all Members of this House who take an interest in these issues, that we absolutely have not ruled out contributing to the TFFF in the future.
The Secretary of State will know my constituents well and will know that climate change is a huge concern for them. They are particularly concerned that the Government talk a lot about tackling climate change during COP, but all year round it falls off the agenda. Will he reassure my constituents that this is an ongoing commitment from the Government to tackle climate change and that the agreed road map for fossil fuels will not somehow become a loophole for climate inaction?
My hon. Friend asks a good and important question about keeping climate change on the agenda all year round. This is partly about international negotiations, but it is as much about the work that we do at home. Whether announcing new SMRs in north Wales, showing the jobs that come from tackling the climate crisis or putting solar panels on the roofs of schools and hospitals, that is all part of the argument for how this is the route to the right thing not just for future generations but for today’s generations. On the fossil fuel road map, we will work with Brazil on that, and I assure her that it will not be the thing that she fears.
(5 months, 1 week ago)
Commons ChamberMy hon. Friend is a great champion for Hexham and it is with great pleasure that I recognise the role of those groups. He and I have talked on a number of occasions about the importance of climate action to so many of his constituents, and I look forward to working with him on these issues in the months ahead.
Last week, 20 of my constituents from the Climate Coalition, the Mothers’ Climate Action Network, Our Grandchildren’s Climate, the Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum and the Camden Fixing Factory came to see me. They were very clear that COP30 will be a pivotal moment to restore momentum on tackling climate change and to tackle the misinformation that is on the rise not just online but in mainstream political parties. Can I ask the Secretary of State what leadership the UK will be showing at COP30 to ensure that we tackle this misinformation? More importantly, what is he doing to ensure that powerful international partners who may not be on the same page as us when it comes to climate change are coming along with us on this journey, because it is only collective action that will solve this serious crisis?
(7 months, 3 weeks ago)
Commons Chamber
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
At the 2024 autumn Budget, £1.8 billion was allocated to local authorities and social housing providers, supporting them to deliver warmer and more energy-efficient homes across the country, targeting low-income households in particular. This goes alongside our plans to raise standards in rented properties to ensure that no social or private renter has to live in a cold, draughty home.
I am pleased to see the Government’s commitment to provide thousands of low-income households with energy-efficient upgrades. This could not have come too soon for my vulnerable constituents who are living on housing estates with outdated energy systems that sometimes leave them without hot water and heating for months on end. Camden Council, which I know the Minister knows well, has plans to upgrade the energy efficiency of those estates, but in many cases it just does not have the resources to replace the heating systems with heat pumps, which would lower bills and carbon emissions even further. What assurances can the Minister give me that local authorities will be given the support necessary to deliver the energy upgrades to the highest possible level?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
My hon. Friend makes an important point. Local authorities will have a critical role to play in our warm homes plan. Under our warm homes schemes, we are offering substantial support to enable low-income households to transition to clean heat. For example, our warm homes social housing fund allows grant recipients to receive an additional £7,500 clean heat upgrade, and under our warm homes local grant, £15,000 is being provided on top of the baseline to enable all households, particularly low-income households, to benefit from clean heat.