Ellie Chowns MP: Climate Timeline

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Ellie Chowns's Climate-related Tweets, Speeches & Votes

We've found the following climate-related tweets, speeches & votes by Ellie Chowns in the last 90 days

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• 14 Nov 2024: Tweet

  Take a moment to think about this. 2.7C rise will have unthinkable impacts. We are like the proverbial frogs in the warming saucepan. How loud does the #climateemergency alarm need to ring before we all recognise the urgency of action? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/live/2024/nov/14/cop29-live-can-the-climate-summit-find-a-way-to-raise-1tn-a-year?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other [Source]

• 14 Nov 2024: Tweet

  Ongoing climate chaos in Spain must be call to action. Worldwide, people on frontline of emergency are being let down. We need leaders at #COP29 to deliver on keeping fossil fuels in ground, integrating climate in every policy decision & on climate justice https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/13/spain-flood-warnings-schools-closed-people-evacuated?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other [Source]

• 30 Oct 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  That this House has considered COP29 and international climate finance.

  Thank you, Sir Roger—I am still learning the ropes. I thank the Minister for coming to respond to the debate. It is my pleasure to introduce this debate on international climate finance, and I particularly appreciate the presence of so many colleagues, given that it is an extraordinarily busy day when, with the Budget, we are discussing domestic finance. I may have one or two words to say on that in a moment.

  This debate is particularly important, because we are in the run-up to COP29—the conference of the parties—in Baku. It is supposed to be the finance COP, because it is crucial that we mobilise the necessary finance to tackle the global climate crisis. My purpose in securing this debate is to encourage the Government to put a bit more flesh on the warm words that we have heard so far. I recognise those warm words: for example, the Foreign Secretary saying that he wanted to put climate change “at the centre” of foreign policy—that is welcome—and the commitments from the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on domestic investment. However, there is still much more to do.

  I will give the Minister advance notice of the topics on which I would love her response. At COP29, we are looking for the international community to agree a new collective quantified goal for climate finance in the trillions of dollars, not the billions. That is the scale of the challenge that we face. Do the Government recognise that, and are they prepared to play their part in leading from the front to ensure that there is collective commitment to the goal?

  International climate finance needs to tackle mitigation, as well as the urgent need to invest to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. It needs to tackle adaptation, because an enormous amount of global warming is already built into the climate system through historical emissions. It also needs to tackle loss and damage: the costs that are already being borne particularly by the most vulnerable in the poorest countries, and are due to the historical debt that early industrialising countries built up through our burning of fossil fuels.

  For some low-income countries, one of the biggest factors is debt through private creditors, which I think is greater than the other debt that a lot of those countries owe. Does the hon. Lady agree that the matter of debt owed to private creditors must also be addressed to tackle the need for more funding for climate emergencies?

  My third point is that it is essential that international climate finance comes largely in the form of grants, not loans. The UK Government generally have a good record: roughly 85% of the climate finance we have committed has been through the form of grants, and I believe that commitment is in place until 2026. Will the Minister commit to that figure remaining a floor? Will she seek to increase it, so that the vast majority of climate finance is provided in such a way that it does not build up debt repayment problems for the future?

  I welcome the point the hon. Lady is making. Thirty-four countries in Africa are spending more on debt interest than on health and education. If we are to talk about a just transition, it is simply not right that the poorest people in the world should be paying for it. That gives force to what she is saying. Will she comment more on ensuring that this is a just transition?

  Absolutely. The hon. Member makes a very important point, which relates to the one I made at the beginning: we cannot avoid the fact that we in the UK have an historical responsibility to take action on climate finance. We need to ensure that we are not storing up further problems for the future by providing climate finance in the form of loans, which make things harder for the poorest people in the poorest countries. Frankly, it is a scandal that, as he says, so many people in the poorest countries find that their Governments are spending more on debt repayments than they are on investment in crucial health and education, which build what we sometimes call the human capital that is so essential to sustainable development in such countries. I very much hope that the Government will lead on this issue and ensure that climate finance is in the form of grants—all of it, if possible, but at least the very largest proportion of it.

  I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing this debate. I spoke to her beforehand, and the subject is incredibly important. According to international climate finance reports, 14 programmes have been initiated to support farmers across the globe to improve their access to clean energy. As she rightly said, that is an objective not only internationally, but at home. Does she agree that the Government must do more to assist farmers domestically across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with incentives for greener and cleaner farming?

  I thank the hon. Member for making that point. This debate is on international climate finance, but I am happy to address his question about the interaction between domestic policy and the climate crisis that we face. I was disappointed not to hear in the Budget statement any commitment on climate or nature. Indeed, reading the detail on page 37 of the Budget, we will have a real-terms 2% decrease in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs budget over the next two years. Investment, however, is vital. Nature-friendly farming in the UK is one of the crucial ways to reduce our own emissions and get a little closer to doing our fair share of mitigating climate change. Another issue close to my heart is the role of DEFRA in tackling water pollution, and again we are not seeing that. I agree that investment domestically in nature-friendly farming and environmental policies is crucial. We have to put our money where our mouth is, and we have to ensure that we ourselves are on track to meet our climate goals.

  At COP28 last year, the stocktake found that the world is off track to meet the 1.5° target. In itself, that commits us to serious effects already. In real life, we see increasing drought and wildfires, and the increasing frequency and severity of flooding in our own country. We know that climate change is happening. We have to do everything possible domestically to tackle it.

  My fourth point is that international climate finance must be additional to aid. In recent years, we have seen not only a shameful, in my view, reduction in the overseas development assistance budget—I strongly urge the Government to bring that back up to 0.7% as soon as possible—but the wrapping of all sorts of other costs into the ODA budget. A real risk, if we put international climate finance into the ODA budget, is less money to spend on health, education and all those policies that are so essential to tackling international poverty and inequality. International climate finance must be treated separately from ODA.

  My fifth point is about where the money should come from. Again, that is an important topic on Budget day, and indeed I will digress slightly to comment on the Budget. One policy we have seen today is a retention of the fuel duty freeze, which is effectively a subsidy for fossil fuels. That is clearly incompatible with the Government’s rhetoric on climate change. We should lead the way as a country in pushing for “polluter pays” taxes to generate the finance necessary to meet what I hope will be strong and ambitious international climate finance goals, because—to recap—this is urgent. 2024 is on track to be the hottest year ever on record. This change is going only one way. I do not know how many economists and scientists we need to tell us that the investment must come early—as soon as possible—because the transition will get more and more expensive. The longer we leave it, the costlier it will be, not just financially, but in terms of the effect on human lives. COP29 is a crucial moment in the international climate negotiations.

  I very much look forward to hearing from the Minister how she will ensure that the UK plays a leading role, putting our money where our mouth is and doing everything possible to influence international partners to ensure that climate finance is sufficient to address the challenge that we face.

  Full debate: COP29 and International Climate Finance

• 25 Oct 2024: Tweet

  It was great to chat with the inspiring nature campaigner Mya-Rose Craig @BirdgirlUK and others at this MP briefing on the nature crisis, organised jointly by the @ClimateAPPG and @EnvironmentAPPG earlier this week ???????? https://twitter.com/ClimateAPPG/status/1848687159097561470 [Source]

• 22 Oct 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  T3. I welcome this Government’s ambition in seeking a new climate finance goal at COP29 in Baku shortly. Will the Minister assure me that she understands the scale of need? The UN Environment Programme says that 10 to 18 times more funding is needed for adaptation than is currently on the table. Will she make sure that it includes loss and damage and is additional to aid? ( 900809 )

  Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions

• 22 Oct 2024: Tweet

  Ahead of COP 29 I asked the Government to commit to a new global climate finance goal that: ✅recognises the huge scale of the adaptation challenge ✅ addresses loss and damage ✅ and is additional to aid The UK must show leadership in Baku. https://x.com/EllieChowns/status/1848752217576141032/video/1 [Source]

• 15 Oct 2024: Tweet

  As climate change makes flooding more likely and more extreme, it's important that everyone knows the risks and knows how to prepare. You can sign up for flood warnings and find more information here: https://www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings 2/ [Source]

• 10 Oct 2024: Tweet

  Climate change is the biggest threat to our food security, and our farmers are on the frontline. For our food security, our economy, and our future, Govt needs to act urgently to both limit the impacts of climate change and help farmers adapt. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/10/harvest-in-england-the-second-worst-on-record-because-of-wet-weather [Source]

• 8 Oct 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  I very much hope the Secretary of State and his Ministers agree that if we are serious about energy security and net zero, we must be serious about energy efficiency. What steps are they taking, in addition to working on insulating existing homes, to ensure that the promised 1.5 million new homes are built to net zero standards, have solar panels on the roof, and are fully insulated so that every new home is a warm home?

  Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions

• 24 Sep 2024: Tweet

  If Keir Starmer is serious about national renewal, how about renewing our NHS by linking it with social care & funding it properly? If he's serious about 'building to last', how about ensuring those 1.5m new houses are fit for the net zero future? #LabourConference2024 [Source]

• 19 Sep 2024: Tweet

  We need more action from the Government on climate change to go with their warm words. As a start they should: Tax the oil and gas giants. Invest in energy efficiency measures like home insulation. Commit to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. https://twitter.com/EllieChowns/status/1836728191723163981/video/1 [Source]

• 19 Sep 2024: Tweet

  The cost of not tackling climate change will be far greater than the cost of tackling climate change. We've known this for 20 years. Now we urgently need that upfront investment in measures like home insulation that long-term will benefit us all. https://twitter.com/EllieChowns/status/1836712657577013375/video/1 [Source]

• 12 Sep 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  Since 4 July, more than 40 people have been jailed in the UK for peaceful acts of conscience: some for protesting climate breakdown, some for taking measures to stop violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza. The UN special rapporteur, Michel Forst, has made public statements to the effect that these sentences violate international law and are not acceptable in a democracy. With our prisons in crisis and radical measures necessary, as we have seen with the release of prisoners this week, will the Attorney General issue guidance to judges to ensure that sentencing for peaceful protest is realigned with common sense, democratic principles and international law?

  Full debate: Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme

• 10 Sep 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  In the spirit of focusing on what brings us together highlighted by the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), I will not spend too long responding to the comments of the hon. Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister) regarding the nuclear industry. Although I agree with him about other areas where he has policy expertise, in this particular policy area we need to focus on the quick, clean, green renewable energy investment that, luckily, his Government are driving forward. That should be our focus.

  Secondly, will the Minister comment on whether the Prime Minister will attend COP29 to demonstrate the leadership that is so urgently needed? Will he show leadership, not followership, regardless of the outcome of the American election and regardless of what is happening in terms of policy elsewhere in the world, including in China and the EU? We need UK leadership on the global stage at COP29; will the Prime Minister provide that?

  Finally, the new collective quantified goal that colleagues have referred to is urgently needed. Will the Government commit to increasing overseas development assistance back up to 0.7% of GNI as soon as possible? Will they commit to international climate finance that is new and additional to official development assistance? Will they also commit to putting in place the “polluter pays” fiscal mechanisms that are required to finance our nationally required contribution to recognising our historical responsibility for the global problem of climate change, and to putting in place the measures necessary to enable every country globally to reduce emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change that are coming down the road whether we like it or not?

  Full debate: COP29: UK Priorities

• 05 Sep 2024: Tweet

  We need a laser focus on net zero if we are to achieve a green economic transformation. I spoke to @daily_express about the need to ensure that all economic policies take account of climate change. https://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/1944321/ellie-chowns-green-party-climate-change-environment [Source]

• 04 Sep 2024: Tweet

  Indeed, bringing net zero into the OBR's mandate is in line with the Government's five missions and their proposal to add net zero mandates to all relevant regulators. That should surely apply to the OBR, and I urge the Government to integrate a net zero test into the OBR's remit https://twitter.com/EllieChowns/status/1831369330103300200/video/1 [Source]

• 04 Sep 2024: Tweet

  We cannot separate the economy and climate change. Today I tabled an amendment to the Budget Responsibility Bill that would require the OBR to consider the impact of fiscally significant Government decisions on its statutory net zero target. https://twitter.com/EllieChowns/status/1831369327238647961/video/1 [Source]

• 2 Sep 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  Given the Government’s ambitious house building plans, the energy crisis and the climate crisis, will the Minister bring forward legislation in the forthcoming planning and infrastructure Bill to ensure all new houses have solar panels on their roofs as standard, so they can generate their own power, and net zero building standards are brought forward as soon as possible, so that homes are well insulated, warm and cheap to heat?

  Full debate: New Build Homes: Construction Standards