Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason he did not attend the recent meeting of EU environment ministers in Luxembourg on cutting CO2 emissions; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce UK emissions following the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Special Report on 1.5 degrees.

Claire Perry, Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), who attends cabinet and is responsible for climate change mitigation, attended the meeting.

Working closely with BEIS, Defra is delivering greenhouse gas emission reductions within the agriculture, forestry and waste management sectors, as set out in the Clean Growth Strategy and the 25 Year Environment Plan.

We are leading the world in our response to the IPCC report. The UK hosted the European launch of the IPCC’s report at the first ever Green Great Britain Week held between 15-19 October. Following the report we have commissioned the UK’s independent advisors, the Committee on Climate Change, for advice on the implications of the Paris Agreement for the UK’s long-term emission reduction target, including on setting a net zero target.