Chris Evans MP: Climate-Related Speeches In Parliament

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Chris Evans's Speeches In Parliament Related to Climate

We've found 11 Parliamentary debates in which Chris Evans has spoken about climate-related matters.

Here are the relevant sections of their speeches.

• 2 Nov 2022: Topical Questions

  T6. While it is admirable to assist other countries in meeting their net zero goals, closer to home, the planning laws mean that polluting companies gain planning permission to build waste transfer plants such as the one in Cwmfelinfach in my constituency. Will the Government reform the planning laws to be mindful of net zero as well as granting permission against the wishes of the community? ( 902000 )

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• 21 Jan 2020: Climate Change

  Small things make a big difference when it comes to climate change. Waunfawr primary school in my constituency has an eco-community, and it decided to switch from plastic bottles to glass bottles to provide its milk. It had lots of problems finding a dairy that would provide glass bottles, but eventually it did. How will the Department ensure that fewer single-use plastics are used by businesses, and by those in local government and the public sector?

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• 13 Jul 2016: Oral Answers to Questions

  As the Minister will know, many renewable energy projects depend on EU funding—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] Mr Speaker, I did not know I was that popular! Such projects include the Swansea bay tidal lagoon. Will the Minister provide a cast-iron guarantee that the UK Government will meet that funding if it is lost as we exit the EU?

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• 16 Mar 2016: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

  16:32

  However, tax reform will go only so far towards paying down the deficit. Whether the Government like it or not, they have to put their money where their mouth is. In the future, we will face challenges ranging from ageing to climate change to antibiotic resistance, and it will be our researchers and innovators who are at the forefront of sustaining our way of life, as the hon. Member for Macclesfield (David Rutley) has just mentioned. We have a responsibility to safeguard both the quality and the productivity of our science base to ensure that we are in a position to meet those challenges. In our increasingly knowledge-based economy, the pursuit of excellence in research and innovation will be at the heart of effective strategies for sustainable growth, increased productivity, competitiveness and the creation of high-value jobs. This is the nation that broke the Enigma code and discovered DNA. Our competitors across the world recognise the value of the knowledge economy and are investing heavily in science, technology, research and education. If we want to remain world leaders in tomorrow’s knowledge economy, it will not be enough to ring-fence the science budget. We need to increase it and invest more in it.

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• 25 Nov 2015: Clean Energy Investment

  10:19

  The Renewable Energy Association states that the UK is currently eighth in the world for investment in clean technology. When the companies and investment firms interested in clean technology look at the UK and compare us with France, Germany, China and America, the question must be asked: does chopping and changing strategy really inspire confidence? It is not just investment and companies that have been put at risk. In pursuing short-term decisions rather than long-term interests, Ministers have harmed the wider economy.

  It is not as if the Government do not know that. In 2012, the BiGGAR Economics report, “Onshore Wind: Direct and Wider Economic Benefits”, for the Department of Energy and Climate Change found that, if different decisions were taken, onshore wind could be worth £1.18 billion in gross value added by 2020 and an extra 17,900 jobs could be created. That is in addition to the 19,000 jobs and £1.7 billion in GVA that onshore wind already supports in the UK economy, according to figures from RenewableUK. Equally, the removal of subsidies from onshore, biomass and solar suggest that there will be higher bills in the long run, because onshore wind is the cheapest method of achieving our 2020 obligation and solar the second cheapest. Any other method of achieving greenhouse gas reductions in the UK is likely to result in higher bills, not next year but for the next 20 years.

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• 18 Nov 2015: The Economy

  15:18

  The No.1 problem that anybody has in this country, whether or not they go to work, and whether or not they are in high-intensive industries, is climate change. Today’s motion is actually talking about green industry. Green technology is the last best chance for this country. Highly labour-intensive jobs go where cheap labour is, and that is not here. That is why we must invest in green technology.

  As is often the case, it is America that is providing the most innovative solutions. In 2006, the Californian Global Warming Solutions Act set some of the most ambitious targets for carbon reduction anywhere in the world. Emissions were to be reduced by 30% by 2020 and by 80% by 2050. It was not just the targets that mattered, because the Californian Government attacked greenhouse gases from every angle—from industry, cars, households, cities, motorways and even farms. The law impacted on them all and provided the base on which to reduce emissions. We often talk about how Government action can only go so far, and that is true, but the Global Warming Solutions Act not only changed the approach of Government, but shifted the market.

  California is one of the most polluting and car-crazed cultures in the world. Its most popular car for two years running was the Toyota Prius, which lost its crown last year to another hybrid, the Honda Accord. The California example is one the UK must begin to follow. It is a fallacy to say that there is a trade-off between tackling climate change and economic growth. The Act aimed—and it is succeeding—to create a whole new clean-tech industry. It created jobs, developed cutting-edge technology, supported established companies and helped entrepreneurs.

  Nearly 10 years on from the passing of that Act, California has become the developed world’s second least carbon-intensive economy. For every dollar of goods and services, it emits less carbon than any nation except France. California is a living example of what research tells us to be true—that we can tackle climate change and dramatically boost our economy.

  In 2011, Google.org compared a “business as usual approach” to the American economy pursuing a clean-tech approach. The report found that such a shift would do the following: grow the economy by $244 billion a year; create 1.9 million jobs; save consumers nearly $1,000 a year; and reduce total US greenhouse gas emissions by 21% before 2030 and by 63% by 2050. We have the ultimate opportunity to develop a carbon-neutral economy that creates jobs.

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• 19 Jun 2013: Oral Answers to Questions

  On the Government’s support of co-operatives and mutuals, what discussions have taken place with colleagues in the Department of Energy and Climate Change on support for co-operative and mutual energy in the Energy Bill?

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• 16 Jan 2013: Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency

  18:22

  However, I wish to discuss a simple solution today. The Government are imposing carbon taxes on energy companies to wean us off our obsession with fossil fuels, but the money raised by the taxes—the European emissions trading scheme and the carbon floor price—is not being passed on to the consumer for them to get insulation. The taxes are being passed on by the energy company and the consumer has to pick up the bill, and we must change that.

  In five years’ time, carbon taxes will have raised £4 billion for the Government. That money should be directed towards insulation, boilers and the other things that can keep people warm and reduce the loss of energy. Of course, these things are already available—people can buy a new boiler—but that costs money. If we moved the revenue from carbon taxes towards the consumer, we could give everybody a grant to improve their insulation. The problem with fuel poverty comes down to one thing: the price of gas, coal and oil has gone through the roof. If we cannot stand up to the energy companies, the Government should fund insulation programmes to stop energy escaping. This country has more winter deaths than Norway and Sweden, and that is because those colder countries understand that insulation is important. That is why the Government need to invest. James Maxton, the great socialist, said that poverty is man-made and therefore subject to change. We have to take action today to change fuel poverty for so many people.

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• 5 Mar 2012: Jobs and Growth in a Low-carbon Economy

  18:43

  For too long I have been worried about debates on green energy and technology. I have been one of those who has said, “This is our last best chance,” but the real problem is that we talk in the abstract and in the future, so as we are only a few weeks away from the Budget there are three fundamental things that the Government can do to increase jobs and growth in the low-carbon sector.

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• 26 Oct 2011: Fuel Poverty

  16:13

  I was heartened and encouraged by last January’s debate. After listening to the response of the Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, the hon. Member for Wealden (Charles Hendry), I really felt that we got it. However, I find myself talking about the subject again today. Ten months later, the average annual bill for a dual fuel customer is £1,293, or 6% of median household income, compared with 3.3% in 2004. That means that an average family on an average income are edging ever closer to the disastrous figure of 10% of their income going on fuel bills.

  I thank the hon. Lady for raising that concern. Rural communities are harder hit because, as she has said, they use oil, the market price for which is out of control. Something needs to be done. I will not mention that too much during the debate, but I hope that the Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Gregory Barker), will touch on it when he responds.

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• 19 Jan 2011: Fuel Poverty

  09:30

  On 16 December 2009, an Ofgem presentation forecast that 6 million households would be in fuel poverty. On 24 February 2010, Ofgem warned the Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change:

  A statement by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on 15 December muddied the waters further. He informed the House that the budget for the Warm Front scheme in England is fully allocated for this financial year. We are told that the scheme is fully subscribed and will be unable to take new applications for the remainder of the current year. The reason is that the scheme has a substantial order book of work, which will take until at least March 2011 to complete.

  It is important to remember that fuel poverty is not simply about schemes and programmes. It is a matter of life and death for the many people who are forced to live in cold and damp conditions. We need a new, far-sighted fuel poverty strategy to ensure that fuel-poor households have a decent income and that sustainable energy-saving measures are prioritised.

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See all Parliamentary Speeches Mentioning Climate