COP26 Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

COP26

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts
Monday 15th November 2021

(2 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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I thank Bristol for what it is doing. We are committed to regional plans for net zero. It should be possible within the funding envelope that Bristol has, but we will certainly look at it.

Wera Hobhouse Portrait Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
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The Department of Energy and Climate Change, which was under Lib Dem leadership until 2015, was a huge driver towards decarbonisation across the board. There are now renewed calls to bring back such a Department, but there seem to be sources in the Treasury who are against such a move, saying that it would become

“the biggest begging bowl in Whitehall outside the NHS”.

Does the Prime Minister agree that we should bring back the Department of Energy and Climate Change, or does he agree with the Treasury?

Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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The hon. Lady is totally wrong, because we need to integrate business into the fight against climate change. That is the way to do it, as we have done with wind power, and we also need nuclear power.