Pat McFadden MP: Climate-Related Speeches In Parliament

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Pat McFadden's Speeches In Parliament Related to Climate

We've found 20 Parliamentary debates in which Pat McFadden has spoken about climate-related matters.

Here are the relevant sections of their speeches.

• 24 Jan 2024: Extreme Weather Events: Resilience

  12:37

  We are ensuring a more integrated approach to climate adaptation over the next five years, through stronger Government engagement and co-ordinated policymaking. As part of that, we have established the right Government structures not only to monitor progress, but to tackle strategic cross-cutting challenges that will drive the UK’s resilience to climate change. This is all in line with the Government’s broader strategy, as set out in the resilience framework, which committed us to strengthening the links between our understanding of the risks that the UK faces and the action we take to prevent those risks from materialising. We must continue to drive forward these initiatives, which help us to curb the impacts of climate change, and at the same time build systems that help us to withstand extreme events as they arise.

  I wish the Government would take climate change more seriously, given the incredible amount of extreme weather events we are seeing right now. It is important for the Government both to talk the talk and to walk the walk when it comes to climate change. They should be leading from the front in developing a strategy to help to ensure that we are resilient in the face of climate adaptation and the changes that are happening, and they should put the funding in place to ensure that that strategy can be delivered.

  On climate change, I am sure the hon. Lady will be pleased to discover that, since peak CO 2 emissions in the mid-1970s, the UK Government by their actions have helped to reduce CO 2 emissions by more than 50%, which is more than any other G7 country. We take these things seriously and we will continue to do so.

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• 4 Dec 2023: Risk and Resilience: Annual Statement

  17:45

  The invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent energy crisis exposed the short-sightedness of getting rid of gas storage, ditching home insultation programmes and being exposed to hugely volatile energy spot markets. Why is the Government’s new policy to roll back on the transition mandated by their own net zero legislation and prolong our reliance on international fossil fuel markets? For those failures, the British public have paid a heavy price.

  The right hon. Gentleman mentioned energy resilience. This Government have invested in renewables. We have not only the world’s largest offshore wind farm, but the second, third, fourth and now the fifth largest, with many more in the pipeline. I am in constant contact with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, and we continue to work to ensure the resilience of our energy networks this winter.

  The Environment Agency estimates that the number of homes at risk of flooding could double by 2050 due to the impact of climate change. This means that the recent devastating floods in my constituency will become only more common. What are the Government doing to prevent that increase in flood risk and to build defences that will withstand not the current rain levels but the deluge that is anticipated by 2050?

  I very much thank the Deputy Prime Minister for his statement and the answers—every one—that he has given. On encouraging businesses to build resilience in a broad range of operations, I believe we must consider the risks in relation to the cost of energy, and others have asked similar questions. What discussions has the Deputy Prime Minister had with devolved Administrations—for example, on ensuring that businesses are able to build resilience on net zero targets and energy commitments—to ensure and secure prosperity for the future for everyone?

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• 1 Dec 2021: Draft Financial Services Act 2021 (Prudential Regulation of Credit Institutions and Investment Firms...

  14:37

  My second question relates to the accountability framework of the PRA, who will take this job on. This issue was raised in yesterday’s debate in the Lords. As the Minister will remember, the accountability framework for the PRA was amended during our debates on the Financial Services Act so that the PRA will have to have regard to our net zero commitments. However, that condition does not kick in until January of next year; does it apply to the changes made in this statutory instrument or not?

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• 30 Nov 2021: Climate Goals: Wellbeing Economy

  17:41

  This debate also forces a discussion on not only the costs of acting, but the costs of not acting. The Office for Budget Responsibility report earlier this year was very clear on that point. If we delay taking the necessary action on the transition to net zero, it will not make the costs disappear. Instead, it will increase them in the longer run, adding to our debt and our deficit, and loading further costs on the taxpayer. That is why Labour announced at our recent conference a commitment to investing in this transition year on year for a decade.

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• 28 Oct 2021: Income Tax (Charge)

  16:25

  The Government ditched their industrial strategy out of ideological spite. The transition plan for net zero produced just last week was a damp squib. One of the biggest challenges that we face is how to transform the heating in our homes, yet their plan would partially cover just one in 250 of the replacement boilers needed. The long-term reform of business rates, which several Conservative Members said they supported, has been ditched once again. Time after time it is ditched. And the Government have only just discovered the importance of early years education, a decade after taking a wrecking ball to Sure Start and setting back a good start in life for millions of children around the country.

  There is a better path. There is a better future and a different way, and that is to put our efforts into raising medium-term growth prospects and to get out of this bind of high inflation, high taxes and poor growth that 11 years of Conservative Government have left us in. That is the better path to prosperity and security. That is the path to ensuring that talent is used and to making the most of the UK’s potential. On the Labour Benches, we want to work with business, not treat it as a scapegoat for every problem that comes along. We want a fair deal for the workers in business, with good pay and decent conditions. We want to support wealth creation every bit as much as we support fair wealth distribution. We want to invest in the skills and talents of all our people, whatever their circumstances, from the youngest age possible, and we will have a net zero plan that meets the challenge of the moment and gets the best possible economic and employment benefits for the country. That is a better plan than the high-tax, high-inflation, low-growth model that the Conservative party has been pursuing, not for two years, not for one year but for 11 long years. It is that failure that gave rise to yesterday’s Budget and the tax burden being imposed on the country by this Chancellor and this Government.

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• 19 Oct 2021: Supporting Small Business

  19:10

  The Government know that business rates need reform. That is why they launched a review 15 months ago, but where is it? Where are the conclusions? Where is the Chancellor’s plan on business rates? Has it not been published because he is fighting with No. 10 about it, as he is over climate change? Has he not published it because he is fighting with the Business Secretary, as he is on industrial support?

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• 26 Apr 2021: Financial Services Bill

  19:30

  Let me start tonight with some of the areas where we agree with what the House of Lords has done with the Bill. Lords amendments 16 to 19 make the UK’s net zero targets part of the remit of the financial services regulators. We moved similar amendments in this House, both in Committee and on Report, and both times the Minister led MPs on the Government Benches to vote them down. Indeed, when the House last discussed the Bill, on 13 January, the Minister said

  There are many reasons to oppose legislative propositions in this House, but “not invented here” has to be one of the weakest. We have argued throughout the passage of the Bill that financial services, including the work of the regulators, are a vital part of the drive towards net zero. There was no good reason for the Government to oppose the idea during the earlier debates on the Bill. Every sector of the economy will have to adapt to the change and it will be for Government Members to explain to their constituents why they voted the amendments down.

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• 13 Apr 2021: Finance (No. 2) Bill

  20:05

  Turning to the debate, it is a pleasure for me to respond on behalf of the Opposition. I thank all Members on all sides of the House, who made very wide-ranging contributions today, and some of them, Madam Deputy Speaker, related to the Bill before us. We have heard excellent contributions on a wide range of issues, including the move away from diesel, climate change, local recovery bonds, the taxation of covid tests, those excluded from Government help schemes, the arts and cultural sector, the aviation sector, the Help to Grow scheme, freeports and regional inequality—or, as the Government call it, levelling up.

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• 9 Nov 2020: Financial Services Bill

  18:52

  Nothing there speaks of the green goals. Do the Government intend to amend the Bill as it progresses, to reflect the statement made by the Chancellor today? There is an opportunity here to put regulatory power behind the goal of net zero and, indeed, broader social and governance considerations for the greater public good. As it stands, the Bill is silent on that—it does not do that yet. When will the Bill be reconciled with the statement that we heard this afternoon?

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• 9 Jun 2015: European Union Referendum Bill

  18:30

  At root, this debate is about how to maximise Britain’s opportunities and influence in the world. We are offered two alternative visions. On the one hand, there is a vision that this is best done alone, unencumbered by the rules that membership of the European Union entails. On the other hand, there is a belief that the challenges we face in the world are best faced up to in concert with others, whether about global trade, responding to climate change, the regulation of cross-border flows of people, money and ideas, or many other issues. This debate is therefore about power and influence, as well as about rules, and it is about how to maximise British power in an interconnected world.

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• 2 Feb 2011: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Performance)

  13:59

  For example, with the Department of Energy and Climate Change, we produced the low carbon industrial strategy to achieve the most for UK industry out of the shift to low carbon power generation. On transport, we worked with the Department for Transport on an ultra-low-carbon vehicle strategy. In other words, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills played a leading and co-ordinating role to take advantage of the industrial and employment opportunities of the future. That is what we were doing to try to foster growth and employment.

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• 4 Mar 2010: Oral Answers to Questions

  The assurance I give the hon. Gentleman is that I will make sure that his point is relayed to the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Treasury. It would probably be wise for me not to comment in any more detail on his question at this point.

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• 23 Feb 2010: Strategic Investment Fund

  [holding answer 9 February 2010]: In allocating the additional \xA3200 million in the 2009 Pre-Budget Report, the Chancellor specified that \xA350 million would be spent on offshore wind investment, \xA330 million on low carbon vehicles, \xA330 million on decarbonisation of the chemicals industry on Teesside, \xA340 million on other low carbon projects, \xA35 million for new TSB prize funds in innovative technology and \xA35 million on enterprise support for service personnel. The money is available to spend only in the financial year 2010-11. This money has not yet been legally committed or disbursed.

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• 23 Feb 2010: Departmental Expenditure Limits

  xvii) transfer of £500,000 of non-voted expenditure from the Department of Energy and Climate Change to the Learning and Skills Council in respect of the National Skills Academy for Power;

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• 23 Feb 2010: Departmental Energy

  The above costs are inclusive of VAT, any standing charges and climate change levy applied to the invoices.

  Companies House procures green electricity which supports electricity generated from renewable sources under the Government’s climate change levy exemption scheme.

  Prior to the current year, The Insolvency Service was tied to contracts that did not include the supply of energy from renewable sources. We have now entered into a contract for our largest office which will include 10 per cent. renewable energy for the first year of the contract, with incremental increases thereafter. It is our intention to add further offices to this contract when other existing leases come to an end. It should also be noted that the data supplied in the table above applies to those buildings (approximately 25 per cent. of the estate) where we are billed for energy directly. Those offices where utilities are met through the landlord’s service charge are not included.

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• 1 Feb 2010: Carbon Emissions

  The Insolvency Service has not signed up to this specific initiative to cut carbon emissions. The agency has however already made significant progress towards reducing its carbon emissions, including through the introduction of new IT, which utilises ‘thin-client’ desktop devices. In addition we have developed a strategic action plan, which should see further substantial improvements in our contribution to the climate change agenda over the coming years.

  The National Measurement Office is committed to contributing to the Government’s aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the UK. However, it will not be in a position to sign up to the 10:10 campaign in the terms which have been proposed. This is because we will shortly be taking on new activities here connected with enforcing certain environmental regulations, notably the Energy Using Products Regulations. We expect that this work, by supporting the effective enforcement of these regulations, will have a significantly larger effect on reducing emissions across the country than attempting to impose restrictions on energy use within our own building which would hinder this important regulatory work.

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• 19 Jan 2010: Departmental Food

  All food waste is collected and then used for the generation of renewable energy which is fed back into the national grid.

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• 14 Jan 2010: Oral Answers to Questions

  It is always difficult to comment on one case on the hoof, but with the Department of Energy and Climate Change we have published a low- carbon economic strategy. We have put considerable Government resources behind that, a significant part of which is support for the development and manufacture of low-carbon vehicles here in the UK. Low-carbon industries are an essential part of our economic future, and that is why we have put in resources behind them.

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• 14 Jan 2010: Low-carbon Technologies

  In July last year, together with the Department for Energy and Climate Change, we published the UK Low Carbon Industrial Strategy, which provides a strategic view of Britain's low-carbon strengths and opportunities for UK-based companies. It included the first investments from \xA3405 million allocated at Budget to low-carbon industries. In December's pre-Budget report, we committed a further \xA3150 million for low-carbon investment. This money will go to sectors such as wind and wave power, low-carbon vehicles and green manufacturing.

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• 7 Jan 2010: Renewable Energy: Government Assistance

  The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills has contributed to the development of the Government’s proposed feed-in tariffs scheme as part of the normal policy-making process. Officials of the Department have had bilateral meetings with officials of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, are members the Renewable Financial Incentives Programme Board and have agreed the consultation proposals.

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