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Meg Hillier's Climate-related Tweets, Speeches & Votes

We've found the following climate-related tweets, speeches & votes by Meg Hillier

• 22 Jan 2026: Tweet

  RT @HackneyLabour: Reducing energy bills. Tackling climate change. Leading the way???? @Ed_Miliband came to visit Hackney Labour's new solar… [Source]

• 14 Jan 2026: Parliamentary Speech

  I congratulate my right hon. Friend on securing this investment. We are hearing some real chutzpah from the Opposition, who seem to have forgotten that it was they who imposed the ban on onshore wind. We need to remember who is in favour of tackling the issue of green energy and bringing down bills. The other side of this, however, is getting the electricity to constituencies such as mine. What progress is being made on upgrading the grid, and what timeline has my right hon. Friend for conveying the electricity to people who need it?

  Full debate: Offshore Wind

• 13 Oct 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  It is great that we are transforming leasehold properties, but many leaseholders are now stuck in a gap with their freeholders when it comes to betterment. If they want to green their homes through new roofs, new insulation and electric vehicle charging, they have to pay a huge extra cost. Will the Minister and, if necessary, Ministers from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero meet me and my constituents to discuss this issue? There is a real gap when it comes to achieving green improvements.

  Full debate: Topical Questions

• 29 Aug 2025: Tweet

  See below for my video on how this Labour Government is tackling the climate emergency. https://x.com/Meg_HillierMP/status/1961439685856711057/video/1 [Source]

• 9 Jun 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  I rise to speak to amendment 87, in my name and the names of most Select Committee Chairs—certainly most of those who cover Departments—including the Chair of the Business and Trade Committee, my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North (Liam Byrne), the Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Sefton Central (Bill Esterson), the Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield (Mr Perkins), the Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael), the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi), and the Chair of the Transport Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury).

  Full debate: Planning and Infrastructure Bill

• 28 Mar 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  Climate change has obviously been a factor as well, as is unsustainable abstraction when water is removed from the natural environment. I will not try your patience, Madam Deputy Speaker, but the issue of chalk streams in this country is a scandal, and once damaged they are gone forever. We have been raping our environment for water company profit and that has to stop. We have also seen growth in water-intensive industries such as data centres, which are causing issues for electricity but also for water, and we need a proper planning process for that. So a lot of this does come back to the Government’s stance in taking a genuinely proactive approach, making sure that planning is not a blocker but actually helps deliver the solutions we need.

  Full debate: Water Bill

• 26 Jul 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  On barriers, one of the key challenges is the capacity of our construction industry. Is my hon. Friend having conversations across Government about how we resolve that issue, so that we can deliver on this crucial agenda of moving towards net zero?

  Full debate: Making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower

  I have to congratulate the right hon. Lady on her chutzpah after 14 years of Conservative government. I have examined closely those net zero policies—the stop-start on feed-in tariffs, the failed competitions for carbon capture and storage, and the stalling of new nuclear. She does not have a record that she should be proud to stand on, and I would have hoped that she would graciously accept and back the innovative plans of the Labour Government.

  Full debate: Making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower

• 17 Jul 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  I also recognise the lead and step change in tackling the issue of net zero to decarbonise our economy with investment in renewables, insulation, carbon capture, and green jobs—things I have examined a lot over the last decade and on which we have seen the previous Government fail so often.

  Full debate: Debate on the Address

• 20 Jun 2024: Tweet

  Reaching net zero isn’t just a target, it’s a necessity. Labour will create a new publicly-owned green energy company to tackle the climate crisis and bring down energy bills. Vote Labour on 4 July. https://twitter.com/Meg_HillierMP/status/1803808378868707645/video/1 [Source]

• 31 May 2024: Tweet

  RT @HackneyLabour: Meg Hillier, MP for Hackney South & Shoreditch, praises Hackney Council for its work on combating climate change - 'A La… [Source]

• 16 Jan 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  16. What recent discussions she has had with businesses on the Government’s net zero targets.

  Full debate: Net Zero Targets: Businesses

• 13 Dec 2023: Tweet

  RT @CommonsPAC: .@Meg_HillierMP: "Be it in tackling climate change, reducing waste, creating new businesses, jobs and skills, or improving… [Source]

• 15 Nov 2023: Tweet

  RT @CommonsPAC: ????New report???? ????Today we publish our report, 'Support for innovation to deliver net zero'. ????The net zero target is in jeopa… [Source]

• 10 Nov 2023: Tweet

  RT @CommonsPAC: ????️Next week, we'll be publishing three reports: ????'Support for innovation to deliver net zero' on Wednesday 15th ????'The New… [Source]

• 7 Nov 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  It is always a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May). I think she needs to join me on my campaign for slow politics, because clearly we have the same agenda here. Some of the best political decisions are those where we are looking 10, 20 or even 30 years ahead, and she is right that we need to be looking at net zero now and planning ahead. Unfortunately, though, this King’s Speech, and indeed the record of this Government led by the party of which she is a member, are thin gruel in that respect.

  Full debate: Debate on the Address

• 06 Sep 2023: Tweet

  RT @hackneycouncil: ???? We’re dedicating £61m to tackling the climate crisis over the next three years - which will help people save on bills… [Source]

• 20 Jun 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  Hackney has also set up a community energy fund. A few years ago, it established Hackney Light and Power, which is the energy services arm of the council, and that local company launched a £300,000 community energy fund last year, which aims to support innovative community-led energy projects that benefit Hackney. That amazing programme ensures that Hackney generates its own energy for local use. That reduces energy costs for many consumers; long may it succeed. We must see locally generated energy for local use as a way to tackle the challenge of climate change.

  Full debate: Co-operatives and Alternative Businesses: Local Authority Support

• 20 Apr 2023: Tweet

  RT @CommonsPAC: The #pandemic & concerns over #climatechange are adding to growing problems with mental health in many of the population B… [Source]

• 22 Mar 2023: Tweet

  RT @CommonsPAC: There are big questions over the path to the UK's legal target of a #NetZero economy by 2050: Now the #NAO expressed has… [Source]

• 17 Jan 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  There is an inconsistency in how the public sector is required to report greenhouse gas emissions. That makes it difficult to keep a track on progress as we approach net zero, and difficult for citizens to hold the public sector to account on delivery. What is the Minister doing to rectify that so that we can keep a proper track on what is happening?

  Full debate: Topical Questions

• 19 Oct 2022: Vote

  Ban on Fracking for Shale Gas Bill - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 21 Jul 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  Climate change is obviously a huge issue for us all, and I am very concerned about the Government’s repeated failure on home insulation, which is an issue in my constituency and across the country. We have seen a number of failed projects, but the Government now have an opportunity to kick-start the economy. I make this plea now in particular because by the time we return in September we will have a new Prime Minister to hear how we can create jobs, growth and opportunity for people by ensuring that we can get that insulation into people’s homes. Emissions from properties constitute 19% of total emissions, and that needs to be tackled, but it will not be tackled unless we get this right.

  These are small but clear examples of the need for us to turn the challenge of achieving net zero into something that is manageable, meaningful and affordable for the people who need to make those moves in order for us to achieve it. This cannot be done to people; they have to be empowered to do it, and the Government are not helping in that regard. They are missing a real opportunity to drive green jobs, growth and investment.

  Full debate: Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment

• 20 Jul 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  6. What assessment he has made of the potential role of energy efficiency in meeting the UK’s climate targets.

  Full debate: Climate Targets: Energy Efficiency

  The Government have had a series of failed programmes on home insulation: the green new deal failed, and the recent green homes grant scheme failed, as the Public Accounts Committee has repeatedly reported. Does the Minister have any confidence that the Government will listen and tackle this major cause of emissions? If it is not tackled, it will put a serious dent in achieving the target of net zero by 2050.

  Full debate: Climate Targets: Energy Efficiency

• 7 Jun 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  A recent Public Accounts Committee report on net zero highlighted the real challenge of getting consumers onboard. Going net zero and embracing low- carbon technologies cannot be a preserve of the wealthiest and there needs to be much more work by Government. What are the Government doing to ensure that consumers are supported to make green choices?

  Full debate: New Low-Carbon Technologies

• 20 Apr 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  The key issue is quite a simple definitional issue: the energy price cap sets a price limit on domestic supplies of electricity and gas, but not on domestic supplies of heat. So developments of the type that my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham East (Janet Daby) referred to will often have wood-chip burners or an equivalent in the basement, or some other source of supply, and they provide heat to the home, but it is purchased for the building and then sold on to an individual. Ofgem, as we know, regulates the supply of gas and electricity but not, at present, the supply of heat. That means that while the supply of gas to a heat network is regulated, the supply of heat from the heat network to homes is not, because Ofgem classifies supplying heat to a heat network as a commercial arrangement, not domestic. But let us be clear: the end user of this is someone living in a home—a flat, an apartment—who benefits from the communal heating system, often arranged for good reason, sometimes in an attempt to provide green energy, but it has actually left individual residents, whether they are homeowners or tenants, in the lurch.

  Full debate: Energy Price Cap: Residential Buildings with Communal Heating Systems

  I am not alone in asking for regulation: the Heat Trust has called for it to happen; the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, as part of a recent report on decarbonising energy, called for heat networks to be regulated; and, crucially, it is in Ofgem’s forward programme for 2022-23. It could stretch out for quite a long time to come, but that is not fast enough for those residents who are sorely affected.

  Full debate: Energy Price Cap: Residential Buildings with Communal Heating Systems

• 10 Mar 2022: Tweet

  RT @NS_Spotlight: "The Johnson government is government by cliché and soundbite (three-word slogans in particular). On climate change we re… [Source]

• 08 Mar 2022: Tweet

  RT @NS_Spotlight: Net zero is too important to be left to Whitehall, says @Meg_HillierMP https://t.co/Gch13hsBg4 https://t.co/D5kIkphvbE [Source]

• 04 Mar 2022: Tweet

  RT @GetBritCycling: Government has failed to explain how it will provide funding to meet #NetZero targets says new report from @CommonsPAC… [Source]

• 03 Mar 2022: Tweet

  RT @energyforlondon: Agree with findings of latest Achieving #NetZero report from @CommonsPAC @Meg_HillierMP - that @beisgovuk needs to pr… [Source]

• 02 Mar 2022: Tweet

  The Government needs to take a leaf from Hackney’s book and follow through with detailed plans on net zero that will deliver on the headline announcements https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/government-meg-hillier-mps-treasury-b985462.html [Source]

• 02 Mar 2022: Tweet

  RT @CommonsPAC: ✳ #NetZero 2050⚡ "Certainty for business & #consumers is critical" but @GOVUK has “too often pursued stop-start strategie… [Source]

• 13 Dec 2021: Vote

  Subsidy Control Bill — Schedule 1 - The subsidy control principles - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 7 Dec 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  A decade ago we saw the failure of the green new deal, and only recently we have seen the complete and woeful failure of the green homes grant scheme. These were supposed to retrofit homes, create jobs and boost the economy. Will the Treasury work with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to get a grip on this, so that they invest taxpayers’ money in achieving net zero and creating jobs rather than throwing good money after bad?

  Full debate: Levelling Up: National Retrofit Strategy for Homes

• 17 Nov 2021: Tweet

  RT @CommonsPAC: You can watch both parts - #NetZero #CovidCosts - of this meeting (and scroll through) anytime here ????https://t.co/avkz4y9… [Source]

• 16 Nov 2021: Tweet

  RT @CommonsPAC: ⚡*WEDS 130pm* we question @HMTreasury on #COP26 action & #spending plus the total £499 BILLION⚡ pledged, paid & guaranteed… [Source]

• 11 Nov 2021: Tweet

  RT @hackneycouncil: ????️???? Today is Cities and Regions Day at #COP26. ⬇️ Watch @mayorofhackney on the work we're doing in Hackney, and how c… [Source]

• 25 Oct 2021: Tweet

  RT @CommonsPAC: ✳Pls note new 4pm start every Monday ✳ ????https://t.co/iTmB4OphE9 #COP26 starts SUNDAY but in March we warned that @GOVUK ha… [Source]

• 21 Sep 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  The Minister has talked a lot about what is going to happen ahead of COP in respect of net zero, but will he look back at the green homes grant voucher scheme that was delivered in September last year? It was set up in 12 weeks, from announcement to delivery, and was axed six months later without having delivered the jobs or the green homes measures. What is the Minister’s Department doing to reflect on that? Is he thinking about longer-term planning to the benefit of both the industry and our net zero targets?

  Full debate: Net Zero Emissions by 2050

• 7 Sep 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  The hon. Member for Wycombe (Mr Baker) and I may not have the same views on net zero, but we share a concern about how the Government will fund it. We will see, for example, a reduction in petrol vehicles, so what will happen to the tax on them? We have also seen yet another failure recently with the green homes grant. What is the fiscal plan for making sure that net zero achieves its targets while we maintain the Exchequer balances?

  Full debate: Net Zero Emissions and Green Investment

• 25 Jun 2021: Tweet

  RT @NAOorguk: Our work spans across key areas of government spending, including: ???? net zero and the environment ???? COVID-19 ???? major infras… [Source]

• 07 Jun 2021: Vote

  Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill — New Clause 1 - Human Rights Abuses - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 26 May 2021: Vote

  Environment Bill — New Clause 24 - Prohibition on burning of peat in upland areas - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 18 May 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  One could be forgiven for thinking that COP26 is approaching and the Government need to make some headline announcements. What is missing in the Secretary of State’s statement today is a clear set of metrics against which this House, this country and the world can measure the Government. Will he take on board the thoughtful recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee, which said that he should report properly to this House with clear targets and metrics which we can hold him to? I know that he is a man of intelligence, and a man who is committed to this; if he is that committed, will he open up that scrutiny so that we can really hold the Government properly to account?

  Full debate: 10-point Plan: Six Months On

• 11 May 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  I want to touch on some of the environmental issues that are touched on in the Bill, although we do not yet know the detail. I am pleased that the Environment Bill is being carried over, but let us hope that we see more detail and more meaningful steps towards action on this issue. The Public Accounts Committee has spent some time over the last year looking at environmental and climate change issues, and we have found the Government wanting. They have been promising the Earth with big broad-brush headlines, but potentially really damaging the Earth through their inaction. There is no planet B, so we have to get it right now. Ambitious projects such as stopping production of petrol and diesel cars within nine years make great headlines, but there is a lot to be done in the nine years between now and then, and very little detail. So it is vital that that is got right, and I think that there is, or should be, cross-party consensus across the aisle that we need to tackle this generational issue for our planet.

  On green jobs, again the Government make promises, but I have been looking at this for at least a decade. With COP26 on the way, we can expect a flurry of stage-managed headlines, but the detailed plans to achieve all these things are not there. Over the last decade or so, we have seen the privatisation of the UK Green Investment Bank, and even the removal of its absolute requirement to deliver green investment; we have seen the failed green deal, which cost over £100,000 per loan; and we have seen a fourth contest launch for carbon capture and storage, which would help to tackle some of our energy intensive industries. The first three fell at the first hurdle.

  Full debate: Debate on the Address

• 28 Apr 2021: Tweet

  RT @CommonsPAC: #NetZeroReview #GreenTaxes #GreenEconomy Despite a narrow “focus on the #revenue taxes raise”, @HMRCgovuk & @hmtreasury “h… [Source]

• 19 Mar 2021: Tweet

  RT @metecoban92: ????????‍♂️ | London Fields Lido is a much-loved local facility that will now be POWERED by its own renewable energy. I was de… [Source]

• 08 Mar 2021: Tweet

  RT @CommonsPAC: Following Friday's #PublicAccounts report on #NetZero we continue the theme this week #LowEmissionCars on Thurs & this aft:… [Source]

• 08 Mar 2021: Tweet

  RT @CommonsPAC: Following Friday's #PublicAccounts report on #NetZero we continue the #green theme this week with #LowEmissionCars on Thurs… [Source]

• 05 Mar 2021: Tweet

  RT @CommonsPAC: ✳️✳️A few short months from hosting #COP26 and two years after setting target in law, @govuk still has "no co-ordinated pla… [Source]

• 05 Mar 2021: Tweet

  RT @CommonsPAC: ✳️"@GOVUK set itself a huge test committing, in law, to a #NetZero #UKEconomy by 2050 - but there is little sign it underst… [Source]

• 04 Mar 2021: Tweet

  RT @Meg_HillierMP: Today's #Budget lacked any vision for: - Supporting people into affordable homes - Tackling #NetZero - A long-term plan… [Source]

• 3 Mar 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  The country is crying out for change. It is in debt and there is an uncertain future for many individuals and businesses. Brexit, which I do not think I heard mentioned in the Chancellor’s speech, is hitting businesses and individual consumers very hard and proving costly to the economy, certainly in the short term. The bit that was missing from the Budget is the vision for a country that should be supporting people into decent, affordable homes; that should be properly tackling net zero, on which I will touch in more detail; and that should have a plan for social care, the sector that was abandoned in the early stages of covid.

  Structurally, there are real issues. A few figures have been announced today on green initiatives—I have not had a chance to go through the detail in the Red Book—but there is no clear plan. We have targets on net zero and other environmental targets, including on things such as electric or net zero cars, yet there are not enough milestones along the way to the targets, which are coming upon us really fast. I will look in detail at the little bits of money announced today, as my Committee, the Public Accounts Committee, is examining issues relating to the green economy in a series of inquiries.

  Full debate: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

  On net zero and the environment, the Government are setting big targets, but our detailed work in the Public Accounts Committee raises many concerns. This is on top of failures on the green deal, the privatisation of the green investment bank, three competitions for carbon capture and storage—one more was recently announced, but so far the first three have failed—and real inertia on developing proper, long-term commitments to really tackling climate change.

  Full debate: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

• 03 Mar 2021: Tweet

  Today's #Budget lacked any vision for: - Supporting people into affordable homes - Tackling #NetZero - A long-term plan for social care - Addressing the problems with #IR35 #SelfEmployment #ZeroHourContracts and other forms of working Full speech here: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/f941aaef-5fba-4a11-a36f-0a7834dde56c?in=14:26:39 https://x.com/Meg_HillierMP/status/1367189563760926722/video/1 [Source]

• 08 Feb 2021: Tweet

  RT @Meg_HillierMP: The #ClimateEmergency requires urgency. The Government must move on from aspirational words and start taking the hard d… [Source]

• 05 Feb 2021: Tweet

  The #ClimateEmergency requires urgency. The Government must move on from aspirational words and start taking the hard decisions. I'll continue pressing with @commonsPAC Also in my round-up, @commonsPAC report on #FreeSchoolMeals and #creative industries roundtable for #Hackney https://x.com/Meg_HillierMP/status/1357754362387460097/video/1 [Source]

• 01 Feb 2021: Tweet

  RT @Meg_HillierMP: This week @commonsPAC scrutinised the Government's plans for #netzero and ending #roughsleeping by 2024. Still lots of w… [Source]

• 29 Jan 2021: Tweet

  This week @commonsPAC scrutinised the Government's plans for #netzero and ending #roughsleeping by 2024. Still lots of work to do. And I challenged the Minister for Schools over #schoolclosures and what plans there are to support pupils with catch-up learning. #schools https://x.com/Meg_HillierMP/status/1355225768352223235/video/1 [Source]

• 16 Nov 2020: Vote

  Pension Schemes Bill [Lords] — Clause 124 - Climate change risk - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 12 Oct 2020: Vote

  Agriculture Bill — After Clause 42 - Contribution of agriculture and associated land use to climate change targets - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No

• 29 Sep 2020: Vote

  United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — New Clause 6 - Economic development: climate and nature emergency impact statement - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 05 Feb 2020: Vote

  Transport - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 17 Jan 2020: Tweet

  I will be voting against the #QueensSpeech because: ???? It doesn’t act with the urgency the climate emergency demands ???? It lowers food safety standards ???? It fails to properly fund the NHS https://x.com/Meg_HillierMP/status/1218211720260395008/video/1 [Source]

• 19 Dec 2019: Parliamentary Speech

  Let me move on the specifics of the Queen’s Speech. Her Majesty talked about the Government continuing to “lead the way” in tackling climate change. It has been my great sorrow, in one of my responsibilities as the former Chair of the Public Accounts Committee—a role I hope to resume in this Parliament—to have pored over the detail of the Government’s policy on climate change. And what do we see? There was carbon capture and storage: three expensive competitions, wasting millions of pounds achieving absolutely nothing. There was the much vaunted green deal, with the noble aim of greening our homes, because, let’s face it, more domestic emissions come from housing than from aviation. But that scheme was scrapped as a total failure—predictably—and cost the taxpayer the equivalent of £17,000 per loan granted.

  Full debate: Debate on the Address

  We have to look at this issue in the long term. Let us be clear: Governments of different colours did not deal with it early enough or properly, but we now need to tackle it, and a Government with a majority of 80 have every opportunity to be bold and ambitious in this direction. But they privatised the green investment bank, which became the Green Investment Group and now does not even need to deliver on any of its green principles. There are very few guarantees about where that money will go. Had the green investment bank remained in public hands, we would have had a huge opportunity to invest in emerging green industries to create jobs and opportunities as well as tackle climate change issues. But that was another squandered opportunity.

  In order to compare this situation with what Labour in power can do, I turn to my own borough—the Labour-run Borough of Hackney—which has set bold targets to tackle climate change, and is achieving those targets. Already, half the electricity for the council and local schools is generated from renewable sources, and that will rise to 100% by April next year. Only very recently, the council established a publicly owned clean energy company that will maximise all council-owned roof space to generate renewable electricity. The council is also decarbonising its vehicles and tackling many other issues. I do not have time to go into everything today, but it is setting an example to show what can be done. If one London borough can do this, what could a Government do if they set their mind to it? This Government really need to step up. Of course, we await reshuffles, but I invite the relevant Minister to come and see what my borough is doing; we can show them how we are leading the way.

  Full debate: Debate on the Address

  The right hon. Gentleman will know, as a former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how long it takes to get these major projects that will deliver big change up and running. In my speech, I outlined three failures that happened because of this Government and their predecessor. Does he agree that we need to get action going now?

  Full debate: Debate on the Address

• 27 Nov 2019: Tweet

  The #ClimateEmergency ties us all into a common fate, only Labour will deliver #RealChange and secure the green investment needed to decarbonise our economy. #Hackney #GE2019 #ForTheManyNotTheFew Read our manifesto here ???? https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Real-Change-Labour-Manifesto-2019.pdf https://x.com/Meg_HillierMP/status/1199653393435910144/video/1 [Source]

• 20 Nov 2019: Tweet

  We need action on the #ClimateEmergency. #Hackney is proving what Labour in power can do Labour will:​ ✅Invest in a green economy and jobs​ ✅Build a national network of electric car charging points​ ✅Install home insulation and solar panels for a million low-income households https://x.com/Meg_HillierMP/status/1197112846724800512/video/1 [Source]

• 06 Nov 2019: Tweet

  See my final round now that Parliament is dissolved #Brexit #SecondReferendum #ClimateEmergency #NHS #SchoolFunding (Filmed yesterday) https://x.com/Meg_HillierMP/status/1192058025672151047/video/1 [Source]

• 28 Jun 2019: Tweet

  The Time is Now for urgent action on climate change. See this + my Annual Report as chair of the @CommonsPAC, in my new weekly round-up. #ClimateEmergency #TheTimeIsNow https://x.com/Meg_HillierMP/status/1144663124164972545/video/1 [Source]

• 26 Jun 2019: Tweet

  RT @suedashbell: Thanks so much to ⁦@Meg_HillierMP⁩ for taking time to talk to us today about the climate emergency ⁦@TimeIsNowUK⁩ ⁦@Greenp… [Source]

• 26 Jun 2019: Tweet

  Privileged to meet so many people and pupils from #Hackney committed to tackling #ClimateEmergency #climatechange. Current chaos is government is stalling already slow progress. Great song from @GayhurstE8 school https://twitter.com/10xGreenerE5/status/1143969183333519360 [Source]

• 03 May 2019: Tweet

  With Parliament making history by recognizing the #ClimateEmergency, now is the time for urgent climate action. This + botched probation reforms, and Monday’s surgery in #Hackney. Please don’t forget to register by 7 May to vote in #EuropeanElections. #SecondReferendum #Brexit https://x.com/Meg_HillierMP/status/1124356367538688001/video/1 [Source]

• 26 Apr 2019: Tweet

  Economically, environmentally, and existentially, there is urgent need for action on #ClimateChange. There’s a lot to be done and we mustn’t let this slip off the agenda just because of #Brexit. See this + more in my new weekly round-up #CancerWaitingTimes #StationSkippingHackney https://x.com/Meg_HillierMP/status/1121834516086173701/video/1 [Source]

• 24 Apr 2019: Tweet

  The Government must set out its plan to tackle the #ClimateEmergency and reach net zero carbon emissions. See below the letter from me and Labour colleagues. https://twitter.com/darrenpjones/status/1120704805096259585 [Source]

• 23 Apr 2019: Tweet

  Watched the fantastic #ClimateChangeTheFacts over the Easter break, which laid out, in precise detail, the existential crisis we currently face. For the sake of our planet and future generations we must act faster. #ClimateEmergency #ClimateCatastrophe [Source]

• 06 Sep 2016: Vote

  Finance Bill — VAT on Installation of Energy Saving Materials - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 09 May 2016: Vote

  Housing and Planning Bill — Planning obligations and affordable housing - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No

• 03 May 2016: Vote

  Housing and Planning Bill — Neighbourhood right of appeal - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No

• 14 Mar 2016: Vote

  Energy Bill [Lords] — New Clause 8 — Decarbonisation target range - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 14 Mar 2016: Vote

  Energy Bill [Lords] — New Clause 3 — Carbon capture and storage strategy for the energy industry - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 26 Oct 2015: Vote

  Finance Bill (Ways and Means) (Payment of Corporation Tax) — Chapter 5 — Supplementary provisions - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 04 Dec 2013: Vote

  Recall of Elected Representatives — Schedule 4 — Application and modification of emissions limit duty - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No

• 28 Nov 2013: Parliamentary Speech

  The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Gregory Barker) talked earlier about good value for green money, but the green deal has been a complete failure. What is the Secretary of State’s assessment of the enormous amount of money spent on this complex, bureaucratic project that has delivered no results?

  Full debate: Green Policies

• 8 Nov 2013: Parliamentary Speech

  My hon. Friend’s good contribution included an interesting point about intergenerational accountability. It is our generation that is making decisions on behalf of the nation about the future—about climate change, whether to go to war and so forth—and our decisions will substantially affect the next generation. Is it right for that generation to be denied a vote?

  Full debate: European Union (Referendum) Bill

• 04 Jun 2013: Vote

  Energy Bill — Clause 133 — Financial provisions - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 04 Jun 2013: Vote

  Energy Bill — Clause 10 — Direction to offer contract - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 04 Jun 2013: Vote

  Energy Bill — Clause 1 — Decarbonisation - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 03 Jun 2013: Vote

  Communities and Local Government — Clause 42 — Duty not to exceed annual carbon dioxide emissions limit - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: Aye

• 21 Mar 2013: Parliamentary Speech

  Agriculture is important—I will touch on that in a bit more detail in a moment—and integrating climate change policies into the development goals is critical. In Nigeria, for instance, the Government are parcelling up areas for private companies to deliver to the grid, which will provide a welcome boost to the power sector, but if that is not done in a green way, we will be shooting ourselves in the foot as we try to maintain our commitment to international climate change obligations. The Prime Minister must consider such matters as he leads the high-level panel. The panel is meeting soon, so this debate is timely and will, hopefully, help the Prime Minister to realise that he has support from Britain, as well as giving him some ideas.

  Full debate: Post-2015 Development Agenda

  Of course, that process it is not very green, either. To go back to my comments about climate change, we should be shortening the food chain when it is sensible to do so.

  Full debate: Post-2015 Development Agenda

• 17 Oct 2012: Vote

  Relationship, Drug and Alcohol Education (Curriculum) — New Clause 22 — Interpretation of the green purposes: duty to assess impact on the Climate Change Act 2008 - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 11 Jun 2012: Vote

  Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 14 Sep 2011: Parliamentary Speech

  At last we are here at the Third Reading of a Bill that has dropped off the parliamentary agenda more often than Humpty Dumpty. In Committee, the Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Gregory Barker) clearly set out his ambitions for the Bill. He described the green deal as

  Full debate: Energy Bill [Lords]

  We will wait to see whether the energy company obligation will truly deliver, because we have real doubts about it. We are yet to see the detail, and the devil will be in that detail. There are 50 pieces of secondary legislation that will flesh out that and other elements of the Bill. We will continue to work on and with the Government, as appropriate and where possible, to put flesh on this skeletal Bill, as well as on fuel poverty and affordability, on climate change and across the board in this area. If the Government fail, they will fail this generation of families this winter and every winter. They will fail future generations who will not forgive them for mistaking rhetoric and ambition for action and outcomes.

  Full debate: Energy Bill [Lords]

• 14 Sep 2011: Vote

  Prime Minister — Clause 42 — Domestic energy efficient regulations - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 14 Sep 2011: Vote

  Prime Minister — New Clause 1 — Energy efficiency aim - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 18 Jul 2011: Parliamentary Speech

  We want to help Ministers. We want to offer positive guidance and advice, and to support them where they are right. For example, we would welcome the publication of the Government’s cross-departmental green economy road map. Businesses need to know what the Government’s long-term strategy for tackling climate change is. They need to make investment and research decisions free from doubt about the Government letting them down. I tabled a question about that earlier this month, and was told that we would have the green economy road map before the end of July. However, with two more sitting days of Parliament, we are getting close to the wire. Indeed, perhaps that is why Parliament is sitting on Wednesday—so that we can see that document before the end of July. Frankly, the Minister had better hurry up if we are to meet that deadline. However, more important than what this House receives is that businesses up and down the country know what is coming, because further delay will cost orders and jobs. Up and down the country, people tell me on the doorstep that they want jobs, and green jobs are a real opportunity, so will the Minister give the House an assurance this evening that this important document—the green economy road map—will see the light of day? Will he commit himself to a date?

  The national policy statements do not adequately address the energy market, the price of energy and the price hikes that our constituents face this summer. We on the Opposition Benches want to see an independent energy advisory committee, akin to the Committee on Climate Change, to advise Ministers on everything from the carbon floor price to energy auctions. We are talking about a body to advise Ministers along the lines of the Committee on Climate Change, but we look forward to the Government perhaps coming up with proposals based on our suggestion, because people have lost faith in Ministers standing up to the big six energy companies. Six energy companies control 99.9% of the consumer market, so how does the Minister intend to protect consumers and tackle fuel poverty?

  This is increasingly a Government losing control, distracted by events and unable to deliver their programme. There may be good intent, but there is a lack of clout across Whitehall and a lack of ability to bring other Departments to the green energy and future green jobs table. As someone who is committed to this issue, I fear that we are in danger of seeing wasted years in the battle against climate change, which future generations will not forgive or forget.

  Full debate: National Policy Statements (Energy)

• 12 Jul 2011: Parliamentary Speech

  The Secretary of State should be congratulated on standing up to the fuzzier elements of his party with his U-turn on nuclear, which he no longer happily describes as a “failed technology” but says is an essential part of the UK's getting off the “oil hook”. The Government’s eventual acceptance of the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change in its fourth carbon budget was largely welcomed by most people, even if his colleague the Business Secretary was described as “squirming in his seat like a schoolboy” at the Cabinet meeting which discussed it.

  However, the Government have failed to deliver on many fronts since the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change took office. Recent ill-judged Government intervention in the energy market has already led to a hiatus in energy investment and uncertainty across all sectors. The solar feed-in tariffs fiasco destabilised the solar sector and sent shockwaves through other renewable sectors. Companies, including RWE, are considering pulling out of the UK because of the uncertainty caused by the Government in the investment landscape. That was underlined by the Pew Environment Group’s report, which showed that the UK dropped from fifth to 13th in a global ranking of countries for green investment. We have seen a green investment bank failing to deliver the necessary investment now and being criticised by the CBI director general, John Cridland, who warned that the bank

  In the White Paper, we have a mixed bag of measures. There is an emissions performance standard—a policy that the Energy and Climate Change Committee considers, at the level set,

  Full debate: Electricity Market Reform

• 18 May 2011: Parliamentary Speech

  We, too, welcome the report. Safety in the nuclear industry is of paramount importance, and it is worth noting that the UK has a good safety record. I welcome Mike Weightman’s view that we need to be continually vigilant in that regard. Nuclear is clearly crucial to security of supply in a low-carbon economy, especially in the light of yesterday’s decision. What is the Secretary of State now doing to ensure that the nuclear programme is still on track? When will we see new plant in this country? Will he be pressing ahead with the national policy statements over the summer, or will he wait for the final report in the autumn? Will the lifespan of the existing nuclear stations be extended as coal-fired power stations go off-line? Will he step up his efforts to boost renewable energy to fill the emerging energy gap? That is an area in which we have seen a lack of action from the Government. Finally, although the Secretary of State keeps denying the subsidy issue, to hide his embarrassment, will he acknowledge the need for market support to ensure that we have safe new nuclear in this country as soon as possible?

  Full debate: Nuclear Industry Safety

• 17 May 2011: Parliamentary Speech

  The importance of this decision cannot be overstated, and I shall not repeat what the Secretary of State clearly laid out on the rationale behind the Climate Change Act 2008, which was established under the previous Government. However, I am puzzled about the 2014 review that he announced, because it introduces new uncertainty for those investing in the country’s greener future and breaks with the five-year cycle. He has already failed to provide business certainty by delaying the green investment bank and pulling the rug from underneath the solar industry. It is therefore essential that the scope of that review is clarified so that it does not do the same.

  Policy needs to be joined-up if we are to have the green industrial revolution that this country needs. We are clear that there is cross-party agreement on the carbon-reduction trajectory, but I should like to ask a few detailed questions of the Secretary of State. What will be the purpose and scope of the 2014 review, which I have already highlighted? Is there a prospect that the Government will weaken the targets that he announced today, or is he suggesting that they can only be tightened? What are the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills doing to support energy-intensive industries? When will he have more detail on that? He alluded to that, but we need more detail.

  Does the Secretary of State agree with the Committee on Climate Change that we need to be more explicit in our support for new nuclear and onshore wind? Finally, what plans do the Government have for introducing road pricing, as suggested by the Committee? Has he consulted the Transport Secretary? Is that a policy for the next Parliament, or is there an urgent need to legislate for vehicle use now?

  Full debate: Fourth Carbon Budget

• 10 May 2011: Parliamentary Speech

  It is important to outline where the Opposition stand on the vital issues facing the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Government. We would all agree that there is no greater threat facing the planet than global warming. In the 19 years since the Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro, when climate change was firmly put on the agenda, the issue has moved from the fringes to the centre stage. Even during the 13-year period of the last Labour Government, for whom I had the privilege to serve, the issue became more urgent and pressing. That is why Labour not only introduced tough targets to reduce our emissions of the gases that cause global warming, but enshrined them in law.

  This coalition Government cannot be accused of ignoring climate change. The Prime Minister himself put the environment at the top of the Tory agenda when he took his husky ride to the Norwegian glacier. At the time, there were sceptics—including the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change—who dismissed that as merely a public relations stunt. We could doubt the Prime Minister’s commitment; after all, he has uttered hardly a word on the matter since. Why else, though, would one install a wind turbine on the roof unless one were committed?

  Full debate: Energy Bill [Lords]

  There is a yawning gap between Ministers’ rhetoric and their actions and it grows day by day. In public, Ministers talk about being the greenest Government ever, so why have they called the Climate Change Act 2008 “red tape” and placed it in a review of what they call “burdens on business”? Ministers might huff and puff and say that the Act is safe in their hands, and I do not doubt the commitment of the DECC team, but why then is it in the red tape review? Perhaps they need to talk to other members of their Government.

  Full debate: Energy Bill [Lords]

  Overall, climate change is too important to leave to the market, and that is one of the problems with the Bill. The market and the market alone will decide. We need a strong Government to lead the fight against global warming and fuel poverty, but I fear that instead we have a Government who are at war with themselves.

  Full debate: Energy Bill [Lords]

• 9 Mar 2011: Parliamentary Speech

  On a point of order, Mr Speaker. On Channel 4 news yesterday evening, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change described 50 kW as “an enormous amount of power. That’s the equivalent of 1,500 domestic roofs.” That is just plain wrong, and either this is startling incompetence by the Government or they have based their review of solar feed-in tariffs on a completely false premise. The review is already causing uncertainty; these comments make it worse. I wonder, Mr Speaker, whether you can use your good offices to ensure that the Secretary of State clarifies the Government’s position to this House and to the public as quickly as possible.

  Full debate: Points of Order

• 16 Dec 2010: Parliamentary Speech

  The issues that the Government must tackle are fourfold: security of supply, meeting renewable energy targets, finding the crucial investment for energy infrastructure—some £200 billion—and, as we heard in Question Time, keeping energy prices reasonable. It is crucial that the Government put in place the mechanisms to make new low-carbon investment attractive and they must bridge the looming energy gap without a rush for unabated fossil fuel generation. I am heartened by some of what the Secretary of State has said, but the Government must also provide energy security across a balanced and diverse energy portfolio and they must provide fairness and affordability for consumers.

  There are other questions, too. Although I recognise that many of them cannot be given definitive answers, I know that the Secretary of State’s officials will have modelled different scenarios. I ask, in the spirit of transparency and open debate, that the Secretary of State share as much as possible of his modelling and risk analysis for plugging the energy gap in the next few years with the House and with the Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change so that we can have a fully informed debate.

  Full debate: Electricity Market Reform

• 16 Dec 2010: Parliamentary Speech

  Given the list that the Secretary of State just read out, one would think that he sees himself as Action Man, but we heard this week that he describes himself as Tesco Man. Last time I questioned the Government about green investment, the Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Gregory Barker), reassured the House that plans for the green investment bank would be unveiled in the spring. Yesterday, I read that the Secretary of State has lost out to the Treasury and that this much-vaunted green investment bank is to be a fund with nowhere near enough resources to generate the £200 billion necessary for investment in green technologies. The question is whether the country has lost out. Given the impact on British business, job creation and the climate, a properly functioning bank cannot wait, and this confusion is very unhelpful to British business. Will he tell the House what is happening?

  Full debate: Topical Questions

  We still do not have certainty. We hear that the matter is “under review” but we believed that it was a Government commitment. I am proud to be the first Labour/Co-op shadow Secretary of State for climate change, and the Secretary of State has described himself as very happy to be the Tesco of the energy industry. Yet without the green investment bank, whichever model we choose, we will not see the benefits that we want to see. The Minister of State, the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle, spoke earlier of the importance of community energy and smaller suppliers; we want energy to benefit all. We want to see this bank up and running, and the Secretary of State will have support from the Opposition if it gets going. Will he consider joining me, as the advocate of co-operative climate change, in working for the benefit of all, with the green dividend and green investment shared fairly through an up-and-running bank?

  Full debate: Topical Questions

• 13 Dec 2010: Parliamentary Speech

  International progress on climate change is of the utmost importance to us all. I am pleased that the Secretary of State has been able to attend the House in person today, so that we have a chance to question the Government on progress. We must acknowledge that the agreements made in Cancun are an important step in the right direction, and, on behalf of the Opposition, I join the right hon. Gentleman in congratulating the Mexican Government on creating an environment in which the nations of the world could agree a common statement. The statement of intent that has come out of Cancun builds on provisions made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) in Copenhagen last year, and we all hope that it will pave the way for more ambitious aims in South Africa next year.

  We have a long way to go, and, as the Secretary of State said, it is essential that the Government take a lead internationally. The right hon. Gentleman has already suggested that the European emission reduction target should be 30% by 2020, and he recently issued a statement with Germany and France pressing for such a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. Last week, the Committee on Climate Change reported in support of that aim. We are delighted that Spain is now on board. Will the Secretary of State tell us whether that is the extent of European Union support? He talks of pressing for measures in the EU, but will he say what practical steps he and the Government are taking in Europe? It might be said that the Government whom he represents are not of one mind when it comes to European relations, and we and the country need to know which point of view dominates the agenda. Will there really be progress by February?

  Full debate: Cancun Climate Change Conference

• 11 Nov 2010: Parliamentary Speech

  Moving from housekeeping to international issues, I note that next week there will be a debate on the Cancun climate change conference, thanks to the hon. Member for Chippenham (Duncan Hames). That debate is very welcome, but until we heard some snippets from the Minister today, it underlined the fact that there has been a deafening silence from the Government in the House about what they want to achieve. We all want a good outcome, and we recognise the challenges, as the Minister said, about legally binding international agreements. Will he tell the House clearly what the Government hope to achieve in the UK, and whether they are planning to make a statement in Government time?

  Full debate: Topical Questions

• 18 Oct 2010: Parliamentary Speech

  On a point of order, Mr Speaker. As my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West (Paul Flynn) said, today the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change published a written statement dealing with significant issues for the future supply of energy, particularly as regards tidal technology and nuclear power, in the United Kingdom. I share the concern that it was not an oral statement; the House should have had the chance to question the Secretary of State.

  Full debate: Points of Order