Preet Gill MP: Climate Timeline

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Preet Gill's Climate-related Tweets, Speeches & Votes

We've found the following climate-related tweets, speeches & votes by Preet Gill

• 16 Nov 2024: Tweet

  RT @jreynoldsMP: Tackling climate change is a huge economic opportunity for Britain. This government is working to ensure every community… [Source]

• 16 Nov 2024: Tweet

  RT @jreynoldsMP: Tackling climate change is a huge economic opportunity for Britain. This government is working to ensure every community… [Source]

• 17 Jul 2024: Tweet

  What do the Green Party and the Conservatives have in common? Inaction on the climate emergency. The Green co-party leader objects to pylons delivering offshore wind energy in his own back yard. Labour will back the builders not the blockers to deliver clean energy by 2030. https://twitter.com/PreetKGillMP/status/1813567807763935392/video/1 [Source]

• 04 Jun 2024: Tweet

  Labour will switch on Great British Energy to create good jobs, cut bills and give us energy security. ???? Help take £300 off your energy bills ???? Make Britain energy independent ???? Tackle the climate crisis Only Labour has a plan for cheaper bills and energy security. [Source]

• 01 Jun 2024: Tweet

  Labour will switch on Great British Energy to create good jobs, cut bills and give us energy security. ???? Help take £300 off your energy bills ???? Make Britain energy independent ???? Tackle the climate crisis Only Labour has a plan for cheaper bills and secure power. https://twitter.com/PreetKGillMP/status/1796860044979401153/photo/1 [Source]

• 12 Mar 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  At a stroke, the Prime Minister’s decision to attack Britain’s net zero targets trashed Britain’s reputation as a place to invest in developing the clean energy of tomorrow. The outcry from industry shows how self-defeating this was.

  Full debate: Budget Resolutions

• 08 Jan 2024: Tweet

  @ThomasWBurberry @UKLabour to coordinate flood preparation and protect more households from the threats posed by climate change and flooding. [Source]

• 08 Jan 2024: Tweet

  Keir's spot on. Why are we responding after the fact on floods yet again? Labour would create a COBRA-style Flood Resilience Taskforce to coordinate flood preparation and protect more households from the threats posed by climate change and flooding. https://x.com/SkyNews/status/1744307518363373730?s=20 [Source]

• 23 Dec 2023: Tweet

  RT @caribdailynews: Dominica and UK Forge New Partnership, APPG Aims to Strengthen Ties and Combat Climate Change https://caribdaily.news/article/1f9e04c3-90a8-4e8f-8c4a-317d5db966a0… [Source]

• 18 Dec 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  The international health regulations under discussion have of course existed in various forms since the 1960s. The latest iteration came into force in 2007. As they stand, the regulations obligate the 196 state parties to develop national core public health capacities for the detection, assessment, control and reporting of public health events. At some international ports, airports and ground crossings, they require parties to notify the WHO of serious diseases with risk of international spread. They set some of the human rights and other protections for any of us travelling abroad—protection of personal health data, for example. Those requirements are hardly controversial, apart from the fact that they were not on their own sufficient to prevent the spread of covid-19 around the world. That is why we think they must be strengthened. Climate change and globalisation mean that biological threats are only becoming more common, and future pandemics could be deadlier than covid-19. If another epidemic strikes with that same infectious potential, we must ensure that we are better prepared.

  Full debate: International Health Regulations 2005

• 01 Dec 2023: Tweet

  RT @Keir_Starmer: The Tories see net zero as a device to divide - for Labour it’s an opportunity to make working people better off. Our cl… [Source]

• 14 Nov 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  At the root of so many of the problems besetting British infrastructure and our housing crisis is the planning system. Surely no one in the House would agree that the current regime is fit for purpose. When we have millions locked out of the dream of home ownership, bills soaring and huge national infrastructure challenges such as the race for net zero, we cannot go on like this.

  Full debate: Economic Growth

• 12 Oct 2023: Tweet

  It was great to speak at the @savechildrenuk Reception at #Lab23 The next Labour government will deliver for children at home and abroad, by building an NHS fit for the future, growing the economy, tackling the climate crisis, and a commitment to international development. https://twitter.com/PreetKGillMP/status/1712369152243941844/photo/1 [Source]

• 01 Oct 2023: Tweet

  Back? Two weeks ago @RishiSunak dodged the UN General Assembly because he expected to be frozen out over his net zero u-turns… Taking us backwards, more like. https://x.com/JamesCleverly/status/1708495926132646257?s=20 [Source]

• 01 Oct 2023: Tweet

  RT @SustDev: From the climate crisis to deepening inequalities, the world faces multiple challenges that know no boundaries. Now, more tha… [Source]

• 17 Aug 2023: Tweet

  RT @Keir_Starmer: My Labour government will use our Net Zero commitment as an opportunity to deliver lower bills and create good jobs, in S… [Source]

• 07 Aug 2023: Tweet

  RT @Keir_Starmer: My Labour government will treat the transition to net zero as a national mission, driven by what is best for working peop… [Source]

• 07 Aug 2023: Tweet

  .@RishiSunak is trying to stoke a climate culture war because he's given up on governing. @UKLabour's Green Prosperity Plan will restore Britain's climate leadership, create jobs, shore up Britain's energy security, and cut households bills by up to £1,400. #SDG7 https://twitter.com/PreetKGillMP/status/1688537992468590594/photo/1 [Source]

• 30 Jul 2023: Tweet

  “The world’s lowest-income countries are experiencing disproportionate increases in extreme heat. These countries are the least to blame for climate change, but they will see a significant increase in the number of at-risk people in the coming decades.”https://reliefweb.int/attachments/1b9e280d-d877-4022-97bb-c10e2b0ffab6/OCHA_IFRC_extreme_heat_report_2022.pdf?_gl=1*1h4jahd*_ga*MTkyMjE2NjM3MC4xNjkwNzIwMTM5*_ga_E60ZNX2F68*MTY5MDcyMDEzOC4xLjEuMTY5MDcyMDI0Ny42MC4wLjA. [Source]

• 24 Jul 2023: Tweet

  Thank you @unitedsikhs- from fires across Europe, and devastating floods in Punjab India, climate change is here and now affecting the lives of so many. Devastating to see the impact on livelihoods. #ClimateCrisis https://twitter.com/unitedsikhs/status/1683534532618915840 [Source]

• 19 Jul 2023: Tweet

  RT @Sabrinadhowre: @PreetKGillMP thank you for today and the meaningful discussion around the urgent need to step up on climate finance. We… [Source]

• 18 Jul 2023: Tweet

  .@icai_uk's report worryingly reveals Britain is still not reporting publicly on how UK aid spending aligns with the Paris Agreement. Labour will pass new legislation to ensure the climate crisis is considered in every aspect of UK development policy. https://icai.independent.gov.uk/review/icai-follow-up-review-of-2021-22-reports/ [Source]

• 5 Jul 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  Lastly, I wanted to ask the Minister about what is driving UK development policy, as it simply does not make sense to me. Why, one might well ask, is BII the only untouchable domain of UK development spending, when we are scaling back climate finance, when bilateral aid to Africa has been parked, and support to desperate Afghans fleeing the Taliban, who now comprise the biggest group crossing the channel on small boats, has been cut to ribbons?

  Full debate: Draft Commonwealth Development Corporation (Limit on Government Assistance) Regulations 2023

• 05 Jul 2023: Tweet

  Africa's been hammered by the converging crises of the pandemic, the climate crisis, debt, inflation and conflict. 55m have been pushed into extreme poverty. Our financial support via the African Development Bank is a great way to direct aid funding where it is most needed. https://x.com/PreetKGillMP/status/1676539409418657792/video/1 [Source]

• 3 Jul 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  I am grateful to the Minister for outlining the African Development Fund orders. We will not oppose them. I welcome the support they show for tackling poverty and food insecurity, creating new jobs and opportunities to meet the demands of Africa’s young and fast-growing population, and tackling the climate crisis.

  Since 2019, Africa has been hammered by the converging crises of the pandemic, the climate crisis, debt, inflation and conflict. An estimated 55 million people on the continent have been pushed into extreme poverty since the onset of the pandemic. In 2021, nearly half a billion people in total were living on less than $1.90 a day. In that context, it is essential that we do what we can to prevent the current crisis from derailing long-term development gains.

  They are breaking their promises on international climate finance, hoping to leave a tab for the next Government to pick up.

  The African Development Bank estimates that the continent needs $7 billion to $15 billion a year in adaptation finance to meet this accelerating challenge, yet ICF, international engagement and domestic commitments were conspicuous in their absence in Government announcements at the Paris summit. Can the Minister explain whether the Government remain committed to delivering the £11.6 billion in international climate finance that they promised in 2019? How and when will that be delivered? Will the Minister explain why the Prime Minister was absent from the summit while more than 100 world leaders were in attendance at a time when, by his own admission, there is growing anger at the international community’s failure to help the most vulnerable countries adapt to a climate crisis that they did not create?

  Full debate: Draft African Development Fund (Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative) (Amendment) Order 2023 Draft Af...

• 24 Jun 2023: Tweet

  .⁦@DrJoyceBanda⁩ is right “new partnership means, recognising the disproportionate impact climate change is having on countries in the Global South. Simultaneously facing burdens of servicing high debts, disaster relief, & food security challenges.” https://fortune.com/europe/2023/06/22/malawi-former-president-africa-food-systems-danger-failing-high-debt-climate-change-new-financial-pact-reverse-africa-food-systems-joyce-banda/ [Source]

• 23 Jun 2023: Tweet

  As Sunak sits out Paris, @Keir_Starmer set out plans for Britain to lead the fight against climate change. A Labour government is ready to walk the talk — at home and overseas. https://twitter.com/romilly_bond/status/1672207336172146689 [Source]

• 19 Jun 2023: Tweet

  RT @SkyNews: During a speech in Scotland primarily about green energy and how the UK can "lead the world" in this area, Sir Keir takes a sw… [Source]

• 19 Jun 2023: Tweet

  ⬇️ Lower bills ????‍♀️ More jobs ???? Energy security ???? Climate leadership This is Labour's mission- to make Britain a clean energy superpower. https://twitter.com/Keir_Starmer/status/1670680310282076160 [Source]

• 09 Jun 2023: Tweet

  Two billion people still drink contaminated water. Climate change is likely to exacerbate this, as floods spread waterborne disease to new water sources and droughts cause people to switch to less safe water sources. #DevelopmentMatters https://twitter.com/abenaopp/status/1667177126783598593 [Source]

• 04 May 2023: Tweet

  The world's poorest countries that have contributed the least to climate change are being hit first and worst. The test of the government's rhetoric will be whether it helps pull the world's poorest back from the brink. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/david-miliband-britain-needs-a-fundamental-change-of-approach-on-international-aid-bhkmns7xk [Source]

• 27 Apr 2023: Tweet

  Thank you for a brilliant discussion on the importance and urgency of International development and climate finance reform https://twitter.com/liambyrnemp/status/1651631888086310919 [Source]

• 17 Apr 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  While it might feel like the pandemic is over now, the threat is not. That is what today’s debate is about. Far from a once-in-100-years event, many natural biological threats have emerged in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome, avian flu, middle east respiratory syndrome, Ebola and monkeypox. Climate change and globalisation mean that natural biological threats are becoming more common, and it is not only biological threats that we must prepare for. Advances in gene editing mean that virologists can more easily modify viruses to be deadlier and spread more quickly, increasing the security risk posed by bioweapons and bioterrorism. Will the Minister comment on our concern that the biological weapons convention currently remains very weak, with little funding and only four staff, compared with the 500 staff for the chemical weapons convention?

  Full debate: Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response: International Agreement

• 01 Apr 2023: Tweet

  @CoffeeAfrique @NimkoAli @UKSLAlliance @Gobannimo @ZahraNomadic Devastating to see the impact of climate change - @FCDOGovUK [Source]

• 22 Mar 2023: Tweet

  RT @DevEngageLab: It's #WorldWaterDay! Guess what the British, German & U.S. public think will be the top impact of climate change? #Data… [Source]

• 21 Mar 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  Nowhere is this more urgent or relevant than in our environment. As I am sure all Members present know from our own constituencies, young people are demanding action on climate change. Across the Commonwealth, the futures of 1.5 billion people under the age of 30 will be defined by this issue. Yesterday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its synthesis report, which was a warning shot: we can still achieve 1.5° this decade, but humanity is on thin ice. Our sovereign has been a committed advocate for action on climate change for many years, and Labour shares that sense of mission and common purpose. That is why we have committed to our green prosperity plan to decarbonise electricity by 2030, phase out dirty imported energy and legislate to ensure that climate flows into every aspect of UK development policy and spending, just as gender does. We recognise that this issue that will define this century, and we have only seven short years to take the action needed.

  To their credit, the Government reaffirmed their commitment to the 1.5° Paris agreement goals and nationally determined contributions at the Heads of Government meeting last year. However, it is now a matter of delivering. Can the Minister therefore update Members on the progress made to develop an implementation plan for the call to action on living lands that was promised in Kigali last year? Can she update the House on the progress she has made towards delivering the £11.6 billion of international climate finance that the Government have promised? Does she see a greater role for networks such as the Association of Commonwealth Universities in catalysing innovation and collaboration to tackle shared global challenges? I had the pleasure of meeting the ACU last year. With 500 member universities across 50 countries, it is uniquely placed to develop international policy at scale and pace. We have great institutions; we must not forget to nurture and make use of them.

  There is so much to be proud of in our Commonwealth membership and relationships. It is crucial to our mutual interests in relation to development, trade, security, climate change, human rights and democracy. It is a great institution that has, at times, been neglected when it needed to be nurtured. The past few years is a prime example of that. I hope the Government will act to correct their course; Labour certainly would.

  Full debate: Commonwealth Day

• 21 Mar 2023: Tweet

  RT @colonialhangovr: Students have been building on the work of the @rememberslavery programme Climate Change, and the Hidden Heroes campai… [Source]

• 21 Mar 2023: Tweet

  We have failed to reverse the 200-year trend of rising greenhouse gas emissions, despite more than 30 years of warnings from the ⁦IPCC which published its first report in 1990. If we act now, we can still secure a livable sustainable future for all. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/20/ipcc-climate-crisis-report-delivers-final-warning-on-15c [Source]

• 1 Mar 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  The Government consider all these matters in terms of humanitarian need and resilience not just in this region and with earthquakes but in many regions of the world facing many other challenges, most of which, but not all, result substantially from climate change. The hon. Gentleman may rest assured that in all these matters of preparation, we are considering them every day and every week.

  Full debate: Turkey and Syria Earthquakes

• 20 Feb 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  I am grateful to the Minister for outlining the IFAD order. I welcome the support that the replenishment indicates for tackling poverty, food insecurity and climate change, and for promoting agricultural development in the world’s poorest countries.

  Small-scale food producers in poor countries have been among the hardest hit by the food crisis, which has been compounded by the lingering effects of the pandemic, global inflation, accelerating climate change, and conflict. Our continued commitment to IFAD is therefore completely necessary if we are to achieve sustainable development goal 2 by 2030. I am happy to confirm that we will not seek to divide the Committee on this issue today.

  We know the consequences when extreme poverty is allowed to fester: conflict, as in the Sahel; irregular migration and displacement; and the deep moral injury of lost lives, lost opportunities and lost human potential. It is firmly in the UK’s interests to continue to invest in IFAD’s work for that reason. Every billion of investment has increased the incomes of 8.6 million beneficiaries by 20%. IFAD’s work is at the frontline of some of the great challenges facing the world, creating enough sustainable jobs and food to meet the challenges of population growth; adapting and building resilience to climate change; and addressing a global hunger crisis that is, at this moment, killing someone in east Africa every 32 seconds. I therefore welcome that at least half of IFAD’s funding in the replenishment will go towards rural development projects in sub-Saharan Africa—a continent of 1.4 billion people just miles from Europe. Africa’s strategic importance to the UK should not be understated.

  Full debate: DRAFT INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT (TWELFTH REPLENISHMENT) ORDER 2023

• 08 Dec 2022: Tweet

  RT @christian_aid: A catastrophic & hypocritical decision by the Govt to approve a new UK coal mine a year after COP26 called for the phase… [Source]

• 14 Nov 2022: Tweet

  Do you know someone doing great work to stand up for nature and tackle climate change? Nominate them for a Green Heart Hero Award today! ???? Find out more and submit your nomination at http://theclimatecoalition.org/greenhearthero [Source]

• 8 Nov 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  I welcome the right hon. Gentleman to his Cabinet role. I know that he believes in the difference that international development can make, and I wish him well in persuading his Cabinet colleagues. Asylum applications are delayed by the thousands, spending on temporary hotels is soaring, and the Home Office is in turmoil. To bail it out, the Minister has seemingly written the Home Secretary a blank cheque out of Britain’s aid budget, spending £3.5 billion that is meant to be tackling the root causes of mass displacement. Since 2008, 41 people have been forced from their homes every minute by the climate crisis, and the floods in Nigeria, where 200,000 homes are under water, surely show that the climate emergency is here, it is now, and UK aid is needed more than ever. Will the Minister agree to carry out an urgent review of all Home Office official development assistance expenditure, and consider whether it is delivering value for taxpayers’ money? Will he please tell the House how long he is happy to let the Home Secretary have free rein over his budget to mop up a domestic crisis of her Department’s own making?

  Full debate: Nigeria: Flood Relief

• 08 Nov 2022: Tweet

  Wishing all Sikhs celebrating the birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji a Happy Gurpurab. As Cop 27 begins Guru Nanak Dev Ji massage is timely. Humanity must not mistreat the planet. #GuruNanakPrakashParv https://x.com/PreetKGillMP/status/1589937656821350401/photo/1 [Source]

• 07 Nov 2022: Tweet

  RT @willrworley: .@mohadow criticises Rishi Sunak's UK aid cuts "You can't cut development aid on one hand and provide climate finance o… [Source]

• 06 Nov 2022: Tweet

  Climate finance must be a central conversation at #COP27. It’s time support reaches those who actually need it the most. Africa emits about 3% of global carbon dioxide emissions yet has taken many of the big hits despite doing the least to cause the crisis. #COP27 #SDG13 https://x.com/PreetKGillMP/status/1589214845957967872/photo/1 [Source]

• 06 Nov 2022: Tweet

  RT @UNGeneva: #COP27 starts today. "COP27 must lay the foundations for much faster, bolder #ClimateAction now & in this crucial decade, wh… [Source]

• 05 Nov 2022: Tweet

  Cop27 is a vital opportunity for the world to support #Africa in facing the impact of climate change. But for that to happen, the conference must generate a breakthrough on finance for climate adaptation and move from words to deeds. #Cop27 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/04/climate-breakdown-africa-plan [Source]

• 01 Nov 2022: Tweet

  Climate change is the defining issue of our time. It’s great to see ⁦@MidlandHeart⁩ a local business, leading the way and bringing the homes of the future to Edgbaston. It was also wonderful to meet Matthew & hear directly about his journey. https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/homeless-man-who-wanted-end-25399584 [Source]

• 31 Oct 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Sharma. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield on his appointment, and I look forward to working with him. There is much that we agree on, but I will certainly still be on his case and hold him to account. I am grateful to him for outlining the draft International Development Association orders and I welcome the support they indicate for tackling poverty and disease, giving millions the opportunity of an education and tackling climate change in line with the Paris agreement.

  Global co-operation has never mattered more: the world reels from the pandemic; we face energy, debt and food crises; the climate emergency is wreaking havoc; and 100 million people are now displaced around the world. Over the past 62 years, the International Development Association has provided nearly half a trillion dollars of investment in 114 of the world’s poorest countries. The technical assistance and grant and concessional finance that IDA provides has been vital for those countries, which are unable to borrow on global markets to develop their economies and lift their populations out of poverty. As a result, many borrower countries have since graduated from debt distress and gone on to be real success stories of the world. Our country can be proud of the role it has played in supporting that historic progress, where many hundreds of millions more human beings have been able to flourish and live good lives.

  Finally, I was profoundly disappointed to read that the new Prime Minister has decided not to attend COP27 in Egypt as we hand over our presidency. It is a crucial opportunity to meet other global leaders, see to fruition some of the good work started in Glasgow last year, and galvanise ambitious global action to tackle the issue that will define this century. It is an issue we all have a common interest in fighting and something that this Government have called their No. 1 international priority. Can I ask the Minister if that remains the case? If so, will he accept ICAI’s recommendation to advocate for a stronger focus on climate action at IDA if the Government are to meet their own climate ambitions?

  Full debate: Draft International Development Association (Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative) (Amendment) Order ...

• 31 Oct 2022: Tweet

  .@RishiSunak decision to attend/not to attend #COP27 is concerning. What’s he running scared of? This pattern of constant u-turns by the Tories doesn't give anyone any confidence. The PM needs to get serious about tackling climate change it’s the defining issue of this century. https://x.com/PreetKGillMP/status/1587076733211234311/video/1 [Source]

• 28 Oct 2022: Tweet

  RT @SkyNews: Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer says it's a "failure of leadership" if PM Rishi Sunak doesn't go to COP27 and use it as an oppo… [Source]

• 27 Oct 2022: Tweet

  Shocking decision the week before COP27 ???????? Rishi Sunak doesn't take the defining issue of this century seriously and won't implement a windfall tax on excessive oil and gas profits We know whose side he's on. https://x.com/johnestevens/status/1585656933024993282?s=20&t=MLf_XZmsyjijln0Hz792pA [Source]

• 26 Oct 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  As many colleagues have said today, the suffering across the world is enormous. Labour has been ringing the alarm about the hunger crisis for the best part of a year. From Afghanistan to Yemen to sub-Saharan Africa, conflict, inflation and accelerating climate change are creating a perfect storm. In June, the World Food Programme warned that the number of people at risk of succumbing to famine or famine-like conditions could rise to 323 million this year. The former Minister, the right hon. Member for Chelmsford (Vicky Ford), travelled to east Africa last week, where she will have seen the human consequence of the crisis at first hand. It is a shame that she cannot now turn that into action.

  I will finish by referring to the single greatest long-term challenge to global food security: the climate emergency. This summer, droughts, floods and wildfires wreaked havoc in the UK and across the world. In Pakistan, devastating floods left a third of the country—equivalent to the size of the United Kingdom—underwater. Acres of rice fields were lost. In India, extreme heat decimated crop yields in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, leading to a domestic grain export ban. In the horn of Africa, we face an unprecedented fifth failed rainy season in a row.

  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned of the impact of global warming on food security—not only from the wanton destruction of extreme weather events, but as soil health progressively weakens and ecosystems collapse, pests and diseases become more common and marine animal biomass depletes. This is a disaster for the world, including for us in the United Kingdom. The Climate Change Committee has warned that global warming could lead to a 20% rise in food prices by 2050. That is a reminder why international co-operation and development is essential to protect people at home and across the world.

  In the crises of years past, we stepped up as leaders on the world stage to galvanise action and co-operation on the challenges that we have in common, helping to develop early warning systems so we can act decisively before tragedies strike. What happened to that ambition? Will the Minister tell us why his Government continue to invest in fossil fuels overseas? Why were central projects for adaptation and mitigation indefinitely paused this summer? When will the UK finally deliver on the international climate finance that it promised as host of COP26 last year?

  Full debate: Global Food Security

• 21 Oct 2022: Tweet

  Wonderful to see India’s first solar powered village- renewable energy is important for energy security. https://t.co/tMoZkufMfg [Source]

• 19 Oct 2022: Vote

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

• 18 Oct 2022: Tweet

  RT @PreetKGillMP: Great to join @MidlandHeart to hand over the keys to new tenants moving into Project 80 homes. Climate change is the de… [Source]

• 17 Oct 2022: Tweet

  Great to join @MidlandHeart to hand over the keys to new tenants moving into Project 80 homes. Climate change is the defining issue of our time. With these homes using 80% less carbon, it's great to see a local business, leading the way in #Edgbaston https://www.preetkaurgill.co.uk/post/preet-helps-launch-midland-heart-s-project-80 [Source]

• 15 Oct 2022: Tweet

  RT @TheresaEurope: Under #Truss ‘more money to millionaires than the whole of the North & Midlands’ with @UKLabour ‘the road to #NetZero i… [Source]

• 09 Oct 2022: Tweet

  The climate crisis is also a human rights crisis - and women's rights crisis. Spot on by @antonioguterres - I fully support Women having a seat at the table and their voices heard when discussing #ClimateAction https://twitter.com/antonioguterres/status/1579081240304447488 [Source]

• 28 Sep 2022: Tweet

  RT @mcneil_tom: This is excellent. Tackling climate change as a central element of the UK’s international development strategy, not only ad… [Source]

• 28 Sep 2022: Tweet

  RT @PreetKGillMP: The climate emergency is this century’s greatest threat to humanity. That is why I am announcing today that a @UKLabour… [Source]

• 28 Sep 2022: Tweet

  In October 2021, the International Development Committee also warned that “a failure to anchor climate change in development … will increase the scope for maladaptation, the negative consequences of poorly designed nature-based solutions and wasteful spending”. [Source]

• 28 Sep 2022: Tweet

  requiring the Secretary of State to take account of the impact of all ODA spending on climate change and to report annually to Parliament. Despite the Tories’ promise to “green” the Department for International Development and protect 0.7% in 2019. [Source]

• 28 Sep 2022: Tweet

  RT @Keir_Starmer: Climate crisis. Prices through the roof. Energy security at a premium. There’s no higher priority for me than fixing… [Source]

• 27 Sep 2022: Tweet

  RT @SuttonCheamCLP: “Under @UKLabour… Britain’s foreign aid budget will help address our #ClimateCrisis” @PreetKGillMP @UKLabour #Lab22 ???? #… [Source]

• 27 Sep 2022: Tweet

  RT @paulmasonnews: Labour's ⁦@PreetKGillMP⁩ pledges legislation to link UK development aid to the net zero carbon target https://t.co/HIuRj… [Source]

• 27 Sep 2022: Tweet

  RT @KindySandhu: @PreetKGillMP - @UKLabour commitment to link policy on international development and climate emergency. #Lab22 https://t.c… [Source]

• 27 Sep 2022: Tweet

  The climate emergency is this century’s greatest threat to humanity. That is why I am announcing today that a @UKLabour government will legislate to ensure overseas aid spend prioritises action to tackle the #ClimateCrisis #FairerGreenerFuture #Lab22 https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/uk-news/labour-conference-aid-climate-gill-b2176576.html [Source]

• 27 Sep 2022: Tweet

  RT @RachelReevesMP: Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan is a real plan for tackling climate change.   It is a real plan for growth.   And a real… [Source]

• 05 Sep 2022: Tweet

  RT @antonioguterres: People living in global climate crisis hotspots are 15 times more likely to die from climate impacts. As we see more… [Source]

• 31 Aug 2022: Tweet

  RT @Ed_Miliband: The floods in Pakistan are a brutal reminder of the realities of the climate emergency. It is not a distant threat- it i… [Source]

• 6 Jul 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  We needed this Government to play their part and come forward with a serious plan. That is why, prior to the strategy’s publication, I set out five basic tests that would allow the Opposition to support the Government. First, after the shutdown of DFID, is the strategy serious about restoring Britain’s development expertise? Secondly, would it provide the resources needed and return the UK to 0.7%? Thirdly, is it serious about targeting aid to those most in need? Fourthly, given the war, pandemic and climate emergency we face, would it protect climate, health and conflict as priorities? Finally, would it make the long-term, positive case for development, because we know it works? These are simple and reasonable tests. They are not complicated or designed to trip the Government up. They are, I hope, tests that many Conservative Members and Members in all parts of the House would want to see met. The sad truth is that this strategy does not meet a single one of these most basic tests.

  I have also received confirmation that the Business Secretary has returned £100 million of Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy international climate finance for 2022-23 to the Treasury, only months into the financial year. That is not an underspend, but a cut. In the integrated review, this Government said that climate was their No. 1 international priority, but we know that the cuts undermined our standing in negotiations in a crucial year at COP26, and developing countries can block agreements, which is in no one’s interest. A year after COP26, crops are failing across the Earth because of extreme heat, and millions of east Africans face famine. How is anyone meant to trust a word this Government say?

  That is the choice at hand on international development. We could be working with our partners, such as the US, at the G7 to negotiate the ambitious action needed on climate change, on vaccinating the world and on our global economic crisis. Instead, Samantha Power, the head of USAID, is reduced to calling the UK out publicly for cutting aid to sub-Saharan Africa in the middle of a global food crisis.

  We could be leading the way as we once did, inspiring our partners to do development differently and to address the challenges of the coming decade, but let us be honest: Britain has been in retreat under this Government. Since shutting down our world-renowned international development partner, we do not even send Ministers to many high-level meetings at the World Bank, the UN and other institutions where we have a seat at the table. At a time when we should be shaping the global response to climate change, the pandemic and the global cost of living crisis, we are missing in action.

  Full debate: Strategy for International Development

• 26 Apr 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  Wars rage in Africa, the middle east and now Ukraine. There is a growing climate crisis, food prices are surging and 300,000 children face death by starvation in Somalia. Britain’s reputation is in tatters after two years of callous aid cuts, having shut down the world-renowned Department for International Development. It is clear that Britain needs a strategy for long-term development to stop lurching from crisis to crisis. Can the Secretary of State confirm today exactly when the new strategy will be published? Will it be backed with the funding, focus, ambition and expertise needed to make a lasting difference in the world?

  Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions

• 13 Dec 2021: Vote

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

• 27 Oct 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  I welcome the Secretary of State to her place. Yesterday, it emerged that the Prime Minister’s pleading at the G7 and the United Nations to deliver £100 billion of climate finance has failed. With that, we had another example of the waning global influence of this Government in retreat. I had hoped that the new Foreign and Development Secretary would have put a stop to that, but her first act was to sign off on savage aid cuts to climate programmes and climate-vulnerable countries, disproportionately impacting women and girls, weeks before the most important climate summit of our lifetime. Does the Secretary of State agree that cuts to programmes such as the green economic growth initiative to preserve Papua’s 90% forest cover, and cuts to the aid budget, have actively undermined the UK’s ability to deliver not only at the conference of the parties, but on the world stage, exposing global Britain as little more than a slogan?

  Full debate: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

• 26 Oct 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  I welcome the Secretary of State to her place. Yesterday, it emerged that the Prime Minister’s pleading at the G7 and the United Nations to deliver £100 billion of climate finance has failed. With that, we had another example of the waning global influence of this Government in retreat. I had hoped that the new Foreign and Development Secretary would have put a stop to that, but her first act was to sign off on savage aid cuts to climate programmes and climate-vulnerable countries, disproportionately impacting women and girls, weeks before the most important climate summit of our lifetime. Does the Secretary of State agree that cuts to programmes such as the green economic growth initiative to preserve Papua’s 90% forest cover, and cuts to the aid budget, have actively undermined the UK’s ability to deliver not only at the conference of the parties, but on the world stage, exposing global Britain as little more than a slogan?

  Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions

• 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

• 20 Apr 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  To galvanise global support to avert the climate catastrophe, tackle poverty and improve global health in a year when the UK will host the G7 and COP26, we must bring countries together. Instead, this Government are the only one in the G7 to have taken the callous decision to cut their aid budget, which weakens our ability to bring countries together to tackle the global challenges we face. The Government’s cuts to the aid budget will remove a lifeline from hundreds of thousands of people and damage our planet, leaving us all less safe. Rather than hiding behind written statements, will the Foreign Secretary face up to his decision, make a statement to the House on his spending plans for 2021 and put his Government’s cuts to a vote?

  Full debate: Climate Change: International Co-operation and the Global South

• 13 Jan 2021: Vote

  Financial Services Bill — Schedule 2 - Prudential regulation of FCA investment firms - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 26 Nov 2020: Parliamentary Speech

  Britain and the world deserve better than a Foreign Secretary who has allowed the aid budget to be slashed, leaving our global reputation lying in tatters ahead of a year when the UK hosts the G7 and COP26. We know that we need a dramatic acceleration in the pace and scale of global climate action, and we all want the UN climate conference to be a success, but for that to happen we must harness the political will of other countries. As host, it falls to the UK to lead by example, not withdraw, yet cutting the aid budget does exactly that and has already attracted outspoken criticism from vital partners. I pity the Foreign Secretary having to explain to his counterparts that this is all part of his and the Prime Minister’s idea of “Global Britain”.

  The hon. Lady asked about climate change. As I made clear, our first priority will be to prioritise measures to tackle climate change and protect biodiversity, and we will maintain our commitment to double the international climate finance, which I agree is very important as we go into COP26.

  spending on ODA. [ Interruption. ] The hon. Lady says, “Yes, yes, yes”—so does she advocate cutting the amount of ODA that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spend on climate change? [ Interruption. ] Again, we come back to the basic point that, given the financial pressures that we face, difficult decisions need to be made. [ Interruption. ]

  I supported the Foreign Secretary taking over the DFID portfolio because I knew that the rigour he would bring to ODA spending would mean that it was always in the British national interest. Indeed, the way he has spoken about it this morning reassures me of that. He has spoken quite rightly about girls’ education, not just because it is good for girls in other parts of the world but because it is good for Britain. He has spoken about climate change, not just because it is good for the poorest and most low-lying countries around the world but because it is good for Britain. He has spoken about vaccination, not just because it is most important for the most vulnerable in the world, but again, because it is good for Britain. So does he understand why so many of us are disappointed that, knowing how well he will spend this money, not only in the interests of others but in the British national interest, we hear that it has been cut? I am sure that he feels that, too.

  The fact is that this is not what was promised. This is not what was promised to the people of Scotland in 2014. This is not what was promised in the Conservative manifesto 11 months ago. The Foreign Secretary talks about scrutiny of spend, and I absolutely agree, but my inbox—I dare say colleagues feel the same—is unanimous this morning against this move. It is fair to say that in Scotland we have a disproportionate interest in international development, because of the history we have with our churches, our non-governmental organisations, our trade unions and our universities. Civic Scotland is keen on international development, and DFID—now merged, of course, into the FCDO—is based in East Kilbride. This is a betrayal: not just a betrayal of those promises, but a betrayal of some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world, who are also facing covid, the economic consequences and climate change, and they are going to be left by this in a dreadful situation.

  I join my right hon. Friend in paying tribute to Baroness Sugg, a terrific Minister who will be greatly missed. I congratulate my right hon. Friend on her appointment as the UK’s international champion on various climate change issues. With her expertise, passion and dedication, she makes an excellent case for taking a more strategic approach, not only in relation to the ODA spend that derives from the FCDO, but looking right across the piece, across Whitehall, to ensure that it is allocated in the areas where it has the greatest life-changing impact. We will do that on climate change and biodiversity, and on girls’ education and helping the very poorest around the world.

  I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend, who was a fantastic Development Secretary. We have talked at length about these issues since our time in opposition, and will continue to do so. He mentioned a number of points. He read out some statistics. With respect, I do not think it is possible to talk with the precision that he did about the implications, because we are not going to take a salami-slicing approach and just say, “We’re going to cut a third from all areas of ODA.” That is not what we are going to do. We are going to take a strategic approach. We will safeguard those areas that we regard as an absolute priority, including many of the things he mentioned, particularly public health and international public health, alongside covid, climate change and girls’ education.

  The Foreign Secretary says that this cut is both temporary and a matter of necessity. Although borrowing is up, the overall cost of borrowing has fallen because of falling interest rates, yet the poorest countries are not able to respond to the economic consequences of covid in this way, as richer countries can. As we are the global host of the G7, the UN Security Council and COP26, will he press the Chancellor to lead by example for global Britain, particularly in relation to the new US Biden Administration, and to leverage more funds from the US as well, so the poorer nations get the best deal in the worst year—next year, of all years, when it will be needed most?

  My hon. Friend may know that we ended bilateral aid to China in 2011. There is, though, still a case for some collaboration in the development space with China, and the example I tend to give is climate change. Yes, China is the biggest net emitter, but it is also the biggest investor in renewables, and even with all the other challenges we have with China, that is an area in which we want to try to work and engage positively.

  The hon. Lady has advocated cutting ODA in the past. She now shakes her head. [ Interruption. ] She wants to fudge it as repurposing. We are not going to fudge it in the way that she does. We are going to be very honest with the British public about an incredibly difficult set of decisions. We are making sure that we can see our way through the pandemic. We will still be contributing £10 billion to the world’s poorest, to climate change and to girls’ education. I think they will understand. If the hon. Gentleman has any alternatives, rather than just criticising from the Opposition Benches, we would be glad to hear them.

  Order. I know how important this statement is, but we do have two further debates, on climate change and on covid-19, so I urge colleagues to have fairly short questions and, correspondingly, short answers.

  The provision of overseas development aid is not a selfless act: it is in our interest to foster global peace and sustainable development, thereby reducing the migration associated with war, climate change, disease and famine. What is the Foreign Secretary’s assessment of the impact on international peace building and migration associated with the Government’s choice to cut foreign aid?

  Full debate: Official Development Assistance

• 16 Nov 2020: Vote

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

• 12 Nov 2020: Parliamentary Speech

  Some 90% of the £2 billion invested in energy deals after the UK-Africa investment summit last year went on fossil fuel projects, and the Minister’s Government are funding fossil fuel projects in Mozambique using more than $1 billion of public funds. COP26 has been delayed for a year; we are looking to build back better, and ensure a safer, fairer world after the pandemic, and there are still opportunities for the Government to act and show clear leadership before they host that meeting. Will the Minister today commit to ending support for fossil fuel projects overseas, both from the aid budget, including the CDC investments, and from UK Export Finance, as a matter of urgency?

  It is not only climate change that impacts migration; so, too, does the destruction of the environment and biodiversity, which affects people’s lives and livelihoods. From the Amazon to Borneo, habitats are being destroyed by legal and illegal deforestation and degradation, forest fires, over-grazing and cultivation. As well as working with those countries, we need to consider the impact that we have here. That is why I ask the Minister to support the amendment on due diligence that my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy) has tabled to the Environment Bill.

  Full debate: Refugee Communities: Covid-19

• 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

• 8 Sep 2020: Parliamentary Speech

  To avoid scrutiny, the Secretary of State snuck out cuts of £2.9 billion from the aid budget on the day Parliament rose for the summer recess. That is around 20% of the aid budget, despite the fact that projections of an economic downturn suggested a required fall of something closer to 9%. Can the Secretary of State tell us where those cuts will come from, and how the Government will ensure that they tackle poverty and the climate crisis and deliver value for money for the British people? Will he today commit to ending the use of UK aid and investment to fund fossil fuel projects in the global south?

  Full debate: Climate Change: International Co-operation

• 9 Jul 2020: Parliamentary Speech

  The Secretary of State herself acknowledged how difficult the process would be, and that her Government would not be ready for a fully functioning Department to exist by September. With no organisational plan yet in place, the Institute for Government estimates that it will take at least two years for the new Department to be properly bedded in. Does the Minister agree that it would have made more sense to focus on the issues at hand: the global pandemic, the upcoming G7 chair, hosting COP26 as part of tackling the climate disaster, global poverty, inequality and conflict?

  Full debate: Official Development Assistance

• 6 May 2020: Parliamentary Speech

  Wherever we look, the virus has hit the poorest and most vulnerable hardest and has exacerbated existing inequalities. I am sure the Secretary of State will agree that ensuring that we have a strong, independent DFID is vital to overcoming the immediate emergency of the coronavirus while continuing to tackle global poverty, inequality and the climate crisis.

  Full debate: Covid-19: International Response

• 9 Mar 2020: Parliamentary Speech

  This is a real opportunity to do the same with the Commonwealth games, using them as a call to action to eradicate poverty and inequalities and improve health and education, alongside sustainable economic growth and tackling climate change.

  Full debate: Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [Lords]

• 05 Feb 2020: Vote

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

• 10 Jul 2019: Parliamentary Speech

  Secondly, let me talk about health financing. Researchers at the World Health Organisation have estimated that the annual cost to poor countries of meeting the SDG target on healthcare for all by 2030 would be $112 per person. That is a significant increase on previous estimates, and would leave low-income countries facing an annual funding gap of up to $35 billion. The WHO estimates that poor countries will need to spend up to 20% of GDP on health to bridge that gap—clearly an impossible ask. If low-income countries are to have any chance of making up even part of the shortfall, Governments of rich countries and international institutions urgently need to address their role in creating global poverty and inequality, including through enabling unjust global tax and trade rules, demanding unsustainable debt repayments, failing to regulate their corporations properly, and imposing costs on poor countries through their contributions to climate change. I hope the Government will use their leadership position at the UN meeting in September to ensure that there is honest recognition of their responsibilities and the reasons why many poor countries do not have the domestic resources necessary to fund public health systems.

  Full debate: Universal Health Coverage

• 25 Jun 2019: Vote

  Delegated Legislation — Value Added Tax - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No

• 11 Jun 2019: Parliamentary Speech

  Does my hon. Friend agree that, just like in 1992 when after the Earth summit every local council produced a local agenda 21, the Government should be mandating local councils to produce and fulfil local SDGs? I think that councils would be willing to take that opportunity if the call went out from the heart of Government.

  Full debate: Sustainable Development Goals

• 1 May 2019: Parliamentary Speech

  Climate change is damaging the lives of people in the UK and abroad. We see the impact through the two recent cyclones that have struck Mozambique. A country that usually expects only one major storm every 10 years has had two in two months, with the latest, Cyclone Kenneth, the strongest cyclone ever to hit Africa.

  In the UK, climate change is seen as directly responsible for the projected rise in heat-related deaths and flooding, with the poorest and most vulnerable people most likely to bear the brunt. It is a tragedy that those least responsible for climate change suffer the most. We need to act to prevent a global climate disaster, yet the Government are not doing enough.

  On emissions, the Government like to talk smugly about what a good job they have done, but the Committee on Climate Change warned last year that the UK will not meet the emission reduction targets laid out in the UK’s clean growth strategy for the fourth and fifth five-year carbon budgets. On biodiversity, too, the Government are falling short, with only five of the 19 targets in the strategic plan for biodiversity set to be achieved.

  The Government’s commitment to fighting climate change is enshrined in the sustainable development goals, yet according to UK Stakeholders for Sustainable Development we are underperforming on 72% of the targets that are relevant to the UK, and many of those are also relevant to climate change. Take target 11.6, on reducing the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including air pollution: UK100 found that 17.9 million NHS patients in England are registered at a GP practice in an area that exceeds the World Health Organisation annual limit for PM2.5 air pollution.

  The national Government clearly do not care enough about climate change, but thankfully some of our local elected officials do: Bristol and Liverpool have pledged support for the sustainable development goals; Birmingham approved a motion on the sustainable development goals in November last year; and 59 councils, more than a third of them Labour-run, have declared a climate emergency. Although those are great initiatives, local government needs more support from central Government. Local authorities need resources to invest in better, greener infrastructure, to encourage and support more people to cycle and walk safely and to promote renewables.

  My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. She has referred to what cities and authorities throughout the UK are doing; will she join me in congratulating the Welsh Government on declaring a climate emergency, and cities such as mine, Cardiff, which is doing so much work on sustainable transport, led by Councillor Huw Thomas?

  The Government have blocked onshore wind, Britain’s cheapest form of energy. According to SERA, the reintroduction of onshore wind would cut another £1.6 billion off the collective electricity bill, but rather than act, the Government have chosen to block onshore wind. Sir David Attenborough has said that climate change is humanity’s

  Full debate: Environment and Climate Change

• 20 Mar 2019: Parliamentary Speech

  “The people of Mozambique need emergency response and support right now to survive this crisis. But this is also a harsh reminder that the climate crisis is upon us and developed countries need to urgently reduce their emissions and stop funding fossil fuels.”

  I welcome the relief package for the region issued by DFID, but it is a tragic irony of climate change that those least responsible are the ones who pay the highest price. A key component of the—

  Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions

  Will the Minister confirm whether the Government have plans to offer any additional climate finance to support vulnerable communities and countries to cope with the consequences of climate change?

  Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions