Josh MacAlister MP: Climate Timeline

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Josh MacAlister's Climate-related Tweets, Speeches & Votes

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

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• 29 Oct 2024: Tweet

  RT @CommonsESNZ: The following MPs have been appointed to the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee and our business can now begin. Find… [Source]

• 14 Oct 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  From our dependence on fossil fuel towards the end of the 20th century, however, we know that that was not the case. It was the last Labour Government that reignited interest in new nuclear in 2005. The then Prime Minister, Sir Tony Blair, announced a review of the Government’s energy policy in order to reduce our reliance on foreign imports and tackle the threat of climate change. He recognised that we could not do that with renewables alone and he rightly and firmly put civil nuclear power back on the table.

  West Cumbrians are ready to play our part in Britain’s new nuclear future. We are globally recognised in the nuclear sector as an area with a match-fit supply chain, decades of knowledge, and the experience needed to build complex nuclear technology. We have a strong skills base that wants to deliver the net zero infrastructure of the future, backed up by the excellent educational institutions needed. My hon. Friend the Minister and the Government have been handed a mess by their predecessors, which they are now being asked to fix at the eleventh hour. It is my hope that the new Government will support Cumbria in our ambitions, and remove the roadblocks that stand in our way.

  Full debate: Nuclear Industry: Cumbria

• 14 Sep 2024: Tweet

  Government support for these projects will be key. If a “just transition” is to mean anything then it needs to deliver a direct alternative to projects like the coal mine. Plus it would: ⚡️Accelerate the energy transition ????Create jobs and wealth ????Tackle economic populism [Source]

• 14 Sep 2024: Tweet

  Jeegar is spot on. As the MP for the community impacted by this, I’ve set out an alternative plan for jobs in future industries. If the calls for a “just transition” are to be more than a slogan, then they need to deliver for communities like Whitehaven. https://twitter.com/jeegarkakkad/status/1834937087650373782 [Source]

• 10 Sep 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  The world has slowly come round to the fact that there is no net zero without nuclear. COP28 was a milestone for the industry, with the conference formally recognising for the first time the crucial role nuclear will play in tackling climate change. Twenty countries, including the UK, committed to tripling nuclear energy capacity by 2050.

  The recognition of the role of nuclear in tackling climate change was long overdue. Nuclear is the only large-scale, low-carbon energy source that can operate 24/7. Its ability to provide constant, reliable baseload power at scale allows it to complement more intermittent renewable energy sources, because we need the lights on, even when the sun does not shine and the wind does not blow.

  Nuclear also has a critical role to play in decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors of industry. As we approach the last two decades of our mission to reach net zero by 2050, the challenge of decarbonising sectors such as steel, cement and heavy chemicals will receive more and more attention in this place. We are also waking up to the fact that revolutionary technologies such as artificial intelligence, which will play such an important role in economic growth globally and here in the UK, will require vast amounts of energy. Those challenges will only increase the importance of nuclear and the sheer volume of low-carbon power and heat it can produce.

  The Sizewell C project here in the UK is a great demonstration of what nuclear can achieve. Plans have been drawn up to use power from the station, when the needs of the grid have been met, to produce hydrogen, which can go towards reducing emissions by means of clean transport and machinery, and direct air capture, a critical part of Britain’s net zero road map.

  Aside from clean energy production, nuclear plays a vital role in economic growth and provides high-quality jobs around the world. Here in the UK, the nuclear industry supports nearly 90,000 direct jobs, including 16,000 in my own constituency. It contributes nearly £6 billion in added value to our economy, and provides a pathway to a just transition that creates rather than cuts jobs.

  With COP28 having been the moment when the world recognised the role that nuclear can play, COP29 needs to be the moment when we agree on how to make that happen. There are three barriers that need to be addressed, and the first is financing. Nuclear power plants have historically found it difficult to attract funding, given the upfront capital involved. The move to include nuclear in the EU’s green taxonomy is welcome, and the UK should seek to mirror it. Our own green taxonomy is still waiting to be published, after multiple delays under the last Government. The inclusion of nuclear, when it is published, is imperative to mobilise the capital needed to deliver our nuclear ambition.

  I encourage the Government to include those considerations as part of their priorities for COP29, but I also encourage them to consider this: it is becoming increasingly difficult for Britain to be an influential, respected voice on nuclear energy, given that we have not allowed our nuclear sector to grow. Dithering by the previous Government has stalled our nuclear industry, and next year will mark 30 years since we successfully completed a new nuclear power station.

  COP29 will be a moment to decide how we roll out nuclear, how it is financed and regulated, and how future technologies are developed and brought to the market at speed. The UK should prioritise playing an important role in those discussions, but we must recognise that unless we fix our own industry, our ability to have influence on the global stage will be limited.

  Full debate: COP29: UK Priorities