Ruth Cadbury MP: Climate Timeline

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Ruth Cadbury's Climate-related Tweets, Speeches & Votes

We've found the following climate-related tweets, speeches & votes by Ruth Cadbury

• 4 Nov 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  As Chair of the Transport Committee, I will focus my remarks on transport, a sector that is essential to delivering the Labour Government’s missions on growth and decarbonisation and to improving our health. On those, the Conservatives dodged the tough decisions and kicked the can down the potholed road. As the Chancellor said, just as in 1945 and 1997, it is up to the Labour party to clear up their mess.

  As for the role of transport in decarbonisation, I am pleased that the Chancellor is increasing air passenger duty on private jets, but I hope that the Government will also address the electricity grid capacity challenge to ensure that there is adequate power when and where it is needed, to provide—among other things—confidence in electric vehicle take-up. This was a major infrastructure issue ducked by the last Government.

  Full debate: Income Tax (Charge)

• 26 Jul 2024: Tweet

  Affordable, accessible & high quality transport networks (whether that's road, rail, buses or bikes) are crucial in growing our economy, tackling the climate crisis & connecting communities. Watch my speech about transport from the Kings Speech debate ???? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU87dV0tYrU&feature=youtu.be [Source]

• 22 Jul 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  The theme of today’s debate is economy, welfare and public services. Effective transport policies are essential to the change we need to see in all three areas, as well as in addressing our climate crisis, so I am pleased to see the bold and ambitious plans set out by my right hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Heeley (Louise Haigh) and her team to do just that. For access to work, education and health services, for supplying our manufacturing and retail sectors and for supporting our wellbeing and family life, decent transport choices are essential, and nowhere are they more needed than in the new communities that will be built, if the traffic on the roads to and around them is not to grind to a halt. Whether in city, town or countryside, we need the full range of transport options—ones that are affordable, accessible, efficient and environmentally sound.

  Transport is at the heart of the challenge of national renewal that we have set ourselves: kickstarting economic growth, boosting jobs and living standards, and building sufficient homes in sustainable communities. Of course there are challenges ahead—not least in further growing capacity in our overloaded rail network. I welcome the plan to improve east-west connectivity across the north of England, but funding further increases in rail capacity will unfortunately be financially unsustainable until we see the economic growth that the Chancellor is working on. Aviation expansion is acceptable only if it passes the four tests that we set ourselves in opposition: cutting carbon dioxide emissions, overcoming local environmental impacts, providing regional benefits across the UK, and deliverability. I know that the new Secretary of State and ministerial team will work across our travel and transport sectors to improve transport connections to the benefit of our country as a whole.

  Full debate: Economy, Welfare and Public Services

• 01 Jul 2024: Tweet

  RT @rushanaraali: I have fought for action on climate change both here in the UK and in countries most affected by the climate crisis. Un… [Source]

• 12 Apr 2024: Tweet

  As Mayor @SadiqKhan has stood up and taken bold action on the climate crisis & toxic air pollution- which harms so many people across London. Sadiq has supported local projects in Chiswick to improve air pollution & will keep working hard to protect our environment. https://twitter.com/LondonLabour/status/1778690291865731536 [Source]

• 22 Mar 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  There is still a long way to go for London to meet World Health Organisation air quality guidelines, and forecasts show that all of London will continue to exceed those guidelines in 2025 and 2030 without further action. That goes back to what the Government are doing. Beyond London, it is the UK Government’s view that clean air and low-emission zones are the preferred option for improving air quality in the shortest possible time, but more must be done to incentivise the use of low and zero-emission vehicles than what the Government are doing.

  We are already beginning to see the expected benefits of expanding the ULEZ, and it is estimated that 5 million more people, including the constituents of some Conservative Members, are expected to breathe cleaner air as a result of expanding ULEZ to outer London. Modelling suggests that the current ULEZ is expected to reduce PM 2.5 exhaust emissions in outer London by nearly 16%, leading to a 1.5% overall reduction in PM 2.5 emissions—those are the ones that cause severe lung disease. It will lead to a reduction of nearly 10% in nitrogen oxide emissions in outer London, and to 146,000 fewer car trips overall, which is an almost 2% reduction. As one of my colleagues said earlier, the worst place to be in terms of air pollution is inside a car, so if fewer car trips are made that should mean that fewer people are exposed to emissions inside a car as well as externally. The ULEZ is expected to save 27,000 tonnes of CO 2 emissions in outer London, so this is about not just air pollution, but climate change.

  Full debate: Greater London Low Emission Zone Charging (Amendment) Bill

• 21 Sep 2023: Tweet

  When I was Shadow International Trade Minister I heard from leading UK businesses how important green jobs & investment are for the UK. The PMs decision shows how out of touch he is- both with UK businesses and with my constituents who want action to tackle the climate crisis. [Source]

• 21 Sep 2023: Tweet

  Yesterday saw another decision which shows how out of touch the Prime Minister is about the energy & climate crisis. No wonder so many leading businesses & even senior Conservatives are questioning the Prime Minister's u-turn. https://twitter.com/Ed_Miliband/status/1704526070584578245 [Source]

• 08 Sep 2023: Tweet

  Yet another sign of the Governments incompetence. More wind energy here in the UK helps lower energy bills and creates well-paid, secure jobs. Yet again the Conservatives are failing to make us energy secure & failing to tackle the climate crisis. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-08/uk-fails-to-clear-any-offshore-wind-in-renewable-energy-auction [Source]

• 5 Sep 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  were the words that a constituent wrote to me, which were taken from an old Quaker testimony. I only occasionally reference my Quaker faith or background in this place—or indeed on Radio 4, as I did yesterday—but the climate crisis is one area where my faith, and many other faiths, drives that ethos. We have all heard and seen so many moving testimonies about how the climate crisis impacts communities and ecosystems across the world, and we know that this devastation will only accelerate.

  There is also the particular concern and worry facing island nations, whether the Maldives or the Solomon Islands. We know that island nations are on the frontline of the climate crisis. It is not academic for them; it is a matter of survival. The establishment of a loss and damage fund at COP27 is a landmark agreement and one that has come only after years and years of the most climate-vulnerable countries pushing for change.

  I could talk at length about the particular challenges, but I want to focus on just why it is important for us in the UK to proactively support, and to take leadership on this. First, it is a matter of basic principles and humanity. We have a duty to help those across the world who are at risk. We are already seeing the personal impact of the climate crisis on communities, whether it is those in Africa facing prolonged drought, or those in countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh seeing record floods. We cannot ignore the reality in front of our eyes. All of us have a duty to work to tackle this crisis. Many of my constituents will have close links to those communities through family, friends or shared ancestors.

  Thirdly, the climate emergency causing droughts and floods across the world means that whole communities are losing not only their homes but their food sources and livelihoods. They are having to move in mass migrations that put further pressure on the areas they arrive in, which are also vulnerable themselves.

  Finally, it is in the UK’s interests to ensure that we take the lead on global action to fight the climate crisis and protect communities who will be hit the hardest. I was lucky enough to attend COP26 in Glasgow. I still remember the powerful and moving testimonies from world leaders and communities who will be, or already are, on the frontline of the climate crisis. These are the communities whose lives will be changed or ruined, and who will see, or already are seeing, the scars of the climate crisis.

  It is estimated that there will be 1.2 billion climate refugees in the next 25 years—individuals who are made refugees in their own country, often within a matter of hours. One year ago, as my hon. Friend mentioned, we saw unprecedented floods in Pakistan. Millions were displaced and thousands killed, and the recovery is ongoing. I put on the record my thanks to the British charities for their amazing work. In the coming weeks I will be visiting, together with Islamic Relief, to examine some of that work. My question is: is it vital that the Government make a serious commitment to climate finance for loss and damage at COP28, which is coming up?

  My hon. Friend references the crisis—those terrible floods—that we all saw last year in Pakistan, which so many of our community members and charities such as Islamic Relief stepped up and took a lead on. Yes, our Government did help, but it sometimes felt like the charities and volunteers were in there first, and the Government followed. The floods in Pakistan are just one example of the climate crisis.

  We have heard much about the support funding for nations because they, and the UK in particular, need to take a lead on this. It is important that we support countries in ensuring that they can access clean and green energy sources for domestic energy. As an example, many island nations are reliant on expensive imports, especially fossil fuel generators, to provide domestic heat and light. Surely one area where the UK can and should be leading is on the export of green, clean energy sources. That will not only help to tackle the crisis, but support well-paid and green jobs both in the UK and around the world.

  Full debate: Climate Finance: Tackling Loss and Damage

• 05 Sep 2023: Tweet

  This morning I spoke about the climate crisis & the impact it will have on the most vulnerable communities in the world. We need urgent action to ensure we protect those who will be on the frontline of this crisis. You can read my speech below ???? https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2023-09-05/debates/75DC9BB1-A3FA-4233-AC70-3E185B781ED4/ClimateFinanceTacklingLossAndDamage#contribution-4238891D-2715-4D28-9FFF-AF572246B21C [Source]

• 01 Sep 2023: Tweet

  It's been over a year since we raised our concerns about the out-dated Energy Charter Treaty & the impact it could have on our climate commitments and Net Zero. Now the Government have announced they're 'reviewing membership.' https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-reviewing-membership-of-energy-treaty [Source]

• 30 Aug 2023: Tweet

  The climate crisis is a huge challenge for our country. I've written about this crisis and what the Government should be doing to ensure we have a fair & just transition that protects our planet & supports well paid jobs here in the UK. https://hounslowherald.com/local-mp-on-the-climate-crisis-p22979-95.htm [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]

• 03 Aug 2023: Tweet

  RT @LouHaigh: The transition to electric vehicles is essential to net zero, essential to growth and essential to the future of our automoti… [Source]

• 13 Jul 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  “Increasing walking and cycling can make life easier and more convenient for people, whilst helping to tackle some of the most challenging issues we face as a society—improving health and wellbeing, improving air quality, combatting climate change and tackling congestion on our roads.”

  Full debate: Cycling and Walking: Infrastructure

• 05 Jul 2023: Tweet

  The Conservatives are failing to take action on the climate crisis. The Climate Change Committee’s report found the Department for Energy & Net Zero has 33 overdue policies & consultations. I asked Grant Shapps to finally take responsibility for this failure ???? https://x.com/RuthCadbury/status/1676644612461715456/video/1 [Source]

• 4 Jul 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  The Climate Change Committee’s report published last week found that of the policies and consultations that are the responsibility of the Secretary of State’s Department, no less than 33 are overdue. He cannot blame anyone else. Will he now own up to the Government’s appalling failure?

  Full debate: Topical Questions

• 19 Jun 2023: Tweet

  The climate crisis is a huge challenge & one that needs urgent action. A Labour Government would tackle this crisis by making the UK a clean energy superpower; with a publicly owned GB energy, a national program of home insultation & an expansion of green energy such as wind. https://twitter.com/Keir_Starmer/status/1670680310282076160 [Source]

• 24 May 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  “Heathrow expansion is incompatible with our environmental and climate change obligations and cannot be achieved without unacceptable impacts on local residents. The improved connectivity to the regions of the UK cannot be guaranteed and there are unanswered questions on the costs to the public purse and the deliverability of the project.”

  Full debate: Heathrow Airport Expansion

• 22 May 2023: Tweet

  @JoannaBiddolph @neiljohnson1974 @carltonreid @crisortunity @_wearepossible @theCCCuk @DrGregMarsden Then why did your party lose a seat in South Chiswick in last year’s elections for the 1st time in 48 years, after campaigning relentlessly against the new (calm) traffic climate that residents had been living in for the previous 18 months or so? [Source]

• 21 May 2023: Tweet

  @neiljohnson1974 @carltonreid @crisortunity @_wearepossible @theCCCuk @DrGregMarsden Once LTNs (that solve existing problems of serious rat-running and nose-to-tail jams through residential side streets) are implemented - the opposition melts away (except on Twitter) [Source]

• 21 Apr 2023: Tweet

  @Noghar @jonburkeUK @Mark_J_Harper @theCCCuk Isn’t that the point? The @transportgovuk is supposed to have and deliver a Transport STRATEGY - rather than just allow journeys other than by car be more expensive/difficult/unsafe/unavailable - as SoST effectively said to @TransportCttee on Weds [Source]

• 20 Mar 2023: Tweet

  This is a stark warning about the scale & urgency of the fight against the climate crisis. It is not enough for the Government to offer warm words- we need to see actions to reach Net Zero & invest in the green energy we need. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/20/ipcc-climate-crisis-report-delivers-final-warning-on-15c [Source]

• 15 Mar 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  Of course, all of this stems from this Government lacking an industrial strategy and from inconsistency with other policies. Where does pausing HS2 and cutting the budget for walking and cycling sit with reducing congestion on our roads and our rail networks, net zero, and investing in jobs and manufacturing? The chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, Sir John Armitt, said that this lack of planning, especially around HS2, is impacting on the “confidence and certainty” that businesses need when making investment decisions. Whether it is housing, lab space, skills, or capacity in the energy grid, it is clear that the UK lacks the basic infrastructure we need to grow our economy. Businesses want to do the right thing; they want to invest in new and greener technology, like the industrial launderette or the retailer of green mopeds that are in my constituency. They want to grow—they want to shift to greener technology and grow their sales and their business—but they are not being given the tools to do so, and I see little, if anything, in today’s Budget to encourage them.

  Full debate: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

• 04 Mar 2023: Tweet

  I’ve lost count of the number of times I and ⁦@UKLabour⁩ colleagues, in speaking on the climate crisis, have accused the ⁦UK Gov⁩t of being “all talk and no action“ (or words to that effect) now confirmed in this report ???????? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/04/revealed-cabinet-ministers-warned-of-legal-action-over-uks-failure-to-tackle-climate-crisis?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other [Source]

• 16 Feb 2023: Tweet

  Whenever I visit schools locally or talk to students I get asked about the climate crisis. Young people rightly tell me we need urgent action. It’s nearly 4 years since Parliament voted to declare a climate emergency. We now need to see action from the Government. 4/4 [Source]

• 16 Feb 2023: Tweet

  ???? Thread It is not enough for politicians to talk about the climate crisis- we need to act. This was what I told the House of Commons last week in my speech on Net Zero ????. 1/4 https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2023-02-09/debates/F6AAECED-967D-4A3F-8CD2-667F34F7B45A/IndependentReviewOfNetZero#contribution-93848DB9-4C3B-4478-A84C-9E6621DBD0E1 [Source]

• 9 Feb 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  Perhaps the most important constituency work that we do as Members of Parliament is meeting students from schools and colleges. Whether they are little ones in years 1 and 2, arriving in their hi-vis jackets, or sixth-formers who are passionate about the world on which they are about to have a say, it is a huge honour to speak to so many of them and to hear about their worries, their concerns and their hope for the world. The one message I always take away, above all else, is their absolute determination to ensure that as politicians we take the climate crisis seriously and, more importantly, that we act.

  It is not enough for politicians to stand up and talk about the climate crisis; it is time to act. We have a responsibility to act, yet over the past decade of Conservative rule, we have seen an approach to the climate crisis that has too often put the need for short-term political gain ahead of the needs of our planet—the planet that our children and grandchildren will inherit.

  but as the right hon. Member points out, the UK is now dropping back from the economic leadership role it once had on climate change and net zero across the world. If only the Government had listened to that message over the past decade, the country might now be in a different position. On Heathrow expansion, for example, they have not ruled out a third runway, despite the undeniable climate impact of the project.

  Almost a decade after coming to power, the Government realised the scale of the crisis and finally introduced a green homes grant programme. My constituents were overjoyed, as were local businesses, but what happened? The scheme was a disaster: it closed down early, and many small businesses lost a lot of money. No wonder the Public Accounts Committee wrote a report on the grant and called it a “slam dunk fail”—a fitting epitaph for the Government’s climate agenda, perhaps. The most frustrating part of that slam dunk fail is that I know from listening to my constituents that they want to see action on the climate crisis.

  There is inadequate support for local authorities and elected Mayors, who are doing their best. Let me give a couple of examples of good work that is going on. The Mayor of London’s ambition is to cut emissions and pollution and to move to net zero. It is useful to know that all new bus contracts in London include a requirement to use zero-emission buses. My council, Hounslow, has done a lot of work on climate change: all new council homes built will be ultra-low emission, for example. But local elected leaders need national leadership, they need tools and sometimes they need funding from the Government, and too many of them say that they are not getting it. Unfortunately, short-termism and austerity have been the Government’s approach to net zero, which is why I believe the UK has been failing.

  I am sure Conservative Members will ask what a Labour Government would do. No doubt my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy) will cover that, but I am very pleased that my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) has set out the bold action that a Labour Government would take to tackle the climate crisis. We would create Great British Energy to champion green and clean energy, we would invest in wind power, we would insulate 19 million homes, we would lower bills, we would improve our energy security, and, most important, we would work to tackle the climate crisis.

  I think back to the dozens of students I have heard from throughout my constituency who are desperate for the Government, and indeed the world, to do much more to tackle the climate crisis. Many of them will be voting in the next general election, and the rest will vote in subsequent general elections. We owe it to them to go beyond words and to take action. It is nearly four years since the House declared a climate emergency, and I was proud to be an MP at that time. We know that we are living in a climate emergency: we see the flash floods, the displacement and the degradation of biodiversity across the planet, and we see the implications of all those developments. We can all see the damage that is being done. What we need to do is act now, but it is such a shame that action was not taken a decade ago.

  Full debate: Independent Review of Net Zero

• 30 Jan 2023: Tweet

  The UK is lagging behind on clean & green energy- despite the hard work done by so many UK based businesses & exporters. That's why a Labour Government would set up a nationwide network of climate export hubs. https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/economics/article/uk-lags-behind-in-international-race-on-clean-energy-ktxkplfzj?region=global [Source]

• 19 Jan 2023: Tweet

  Sending my best wishes to Jacinda Ardern- who has shown remarkable leadership, including on the climate crisis. She has been an inspiration to women across the world & shown the difference you can make with principled leadership. https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/1615918065467662336 [Source]

• 16 Jan 2023: Tweet

  @pennacksplace @Helzbels @TfL They are gradually being phased out as they are also not compliant with TfLs net zero strategy (all new routes must be EV as they come up for re-tender). So their lifespan will have been a fraction of the old RMs [Source]

• 24 Nov 2022: Tweet

  RT @darrenpjones: High carbon emitting and fossil fuel based companies need to be investing in low carbon and renewable energy as much as p… [Source]

• 17 Nov 2022: Tweet

  The Energy Charter Treaty has seen countries who tried to decarbonise face legal action from fossil fuel companies. Earlier this month I asked about the risk that fossil fuel projects approved in the UK before August 2023 could be protected under this treaty ???? https://x.com/RuthCadbury/status/1593281559305527297/video/1 [Source]

• 10 Nov 2022: Tweet

  RT @Keir_Starmer: Britain should be leading the way to tackle the climate crisis. Visiting a wind farm in Grimsby, I spoke with industry l… [Source]

• 07 Nov 2022: Tweet

  While the Government dithers & delays Labour have a real plan to tackle the climate crisis. From green export hubs across the UK, to setting up Great British Energy a Labour Government would show leadership & invest in clean energy. 3/3 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/05/rishi-sunak-fossil-fuel-prime-minister-in-renewable-age [Source]

• 07 Nov 2022: Tweet

  Wind power (along with other forms of clean+green energy) is vital in making the UK energy secure, lowering bills and creating well-paid skilled jobs across the UK. Rishi Sunak is out of touch about the scale of the climate crisis & is once again showing no real leadership. 2/3 [Source]

• 3 Nov 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  On behalf of His Majesty’s Opposition, I welcome the Secretary of State to her position on her first outing. The Government have committed to reaching net zero by 2050, but they continue to approve new licences for oil and gas projects. Projects approved before August 2023 could be protected from being stopped under a revised energy charter treaty. We know that other countries have been sued under the treaty when they tried to close down fossil fuel projects under their net zero commitments. How would the Government prevent that from happening in the UK under a revised energy charter treaty?

  Full debate: Energy Sector: Trade Opportunities

• 28 Oct 2022: Tweet

  A very worrying pattern which shows how seriously Rishi Sunak takes the climate crisis. Tackling the climate crisis is crucial for our planet. It would also create well-paid & skilled jobs here in the UK and help lower our energy bills. Is this global Britain in action? ???? https://twitter.com/johnestevens/status/1585656933024993282 [Source]

• 19 Oct 2022: Vote

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

• 12 Oct 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  The Secretary of State has been critical of the Government’s own net zero pledge, calling it “arbitrary”. Perhaps that is why they might wish to avoid any scrutiny. When the Prime Minister was Secretary of State for International Trade, she selectively released partial polling data, only to be rebuked by the British Polling Council. We saw her ignore officials’ advice about the impact of the UK-Australia deal on UK farmers.

  Full debate: Trade Deals: Parliamentary Scrutiny

• 28 Sep 2022: Tweet

  RT @NickTorfaen: As International Trade Secretary I would drive green export growth. Selling British innovation on climate change globall… [Source]

• 26 Sep 2022: Tweet

  RT @NickTorfaen: ⁦@UKLabour⁩ will make the UK a world leader in tackling climate change. As International Trade Secretary I would set up C… [Source]

• 07 Sep 2022: Tweet

  Is this a sign of how seriously the Government take the climate crisis, the need to transition to sustainable & secure energy sources and the cost of living crisis facing so many? https://twitter.com/10DowningStreet/status/1567245923255816193 [Source]

• 06 Sep 2022: Tweet

  Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng ripped out parts of the deal that would have tackled the climate crisis. Remember when David Cameron said get rid of the green crap? This appears to be the Conservatives approach to trade! 4/10 https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/uk-australia-climate-trade-deal-truss-b1916260.html [Source]

• 26 Jul 2022: Tweet

  Yesterday Rishi Sunak was talking about the importance of home insulation to tackle the climate crisis. Yet after a decade of Conservative rule many homes are still being built without adequate insulation. When is the Government going to offer more than warm words? ???? https://x.com/RuthCadbury/status/1551869377359790080/video/1 [Source]

• 24 Jul 2022: Tweet

  RT @PreetKGillMP: With the world in desperate crisis, facing climate change, famine and conflict. It is utterly shameful for ⁦@RishiSunak⁩… [Source]

• 19 Jul 2022: Tweet

  Tackling the climate crisis & investing in renewable energy is crucial- not only in protecting our planet, but also in lowering energy bills, creating well paid jobs in the UK & ending our reliance on authoritarian regimes. https://twitter.com/Ed_Miliband/status/1549114059823489025 [Source]

• 15 Jul 2022: Tweet

  We are already seeing the impact of the climate crisis around the world & in the UK. We need to see the Government acting with much greater urgency- whether it's improving EV charging, rolling out a national home insultation program or supporting renewable energy like wind. 2/2 [Source]

• 11 Jul 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  This brings me to the wider problem and the failure of our approach to trade. The only significant discernible trade policy the UK Government have is to secure free trade agreements with countries covering 80% of UK trade by the end of this year. That policy leads the Government to rush to sign any deal they can, without thinking about the influence the UK could have in the trade negotiations. We are—when I last looked—the sixth largest economy in the world. Whether it is on animal welfare, climate change, women’s rights, workers’ rights or environmental considerations, the UK can and should be using trade as a way of ensuring that our basic and fundamental values are protected around the world and as a lever to improve them. Trade cannot and does not happen in a vacuum.

  Full debate: Dolphin and Whale Hunting: Faroe Islands

• 04 Jul 2022: Tweet

  Electric vehicles are crucial in our efforts to tackle the climate crisis. Yet the Government are scrapping the plug-in grant which helps residents switch to electric vehicles. Why aren't the Government helping those who want to switch? Watch my question below ???? https://x.com/RuthCadbury/status/1543988947843440641/video/1 [Source]

• 30 Jun 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  The Government have recently cut the plug-in grant, and the UK is now the only major European country without any incentive in place to switch to electric vehicles. How will this help us end the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 and become net zero by 2050?

  Full debate: Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

• 29 Jun 2022: Tweet

  A damning report about the ongoing failure to make progress in reaching our net zero goals- with the Climate Change Committee warning of ‘major policy failures’ and ‘scant evidence of delivery’’. We cannot afford more dither & delay from the Government. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61926275 [Source]

• 16 Jun 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  It is vital that we support green industries in the UK, especially those that are exporting products around the world, yet the investor state dispute settlements threaten green industries and renewable energy projects. Many of these provisions are in the energy charter treaty, which lets fossil fuel companies sue Governments who are trying to decarbonise, such as the Netherlands. Will the Government therefore support efforts to remove in full these protections for fossil fuel companies in the energy charter treaty?

  Full debate: UK’s Green Industries: Export Opportunities

• 9 Jun 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  There is a wider issue, beyond the environmental protection of our rivers. What role will Ofwat play in ensuring that new developments have the water infra- structure they need? Additionally, the Rivers Trust has raised the importance of ensuring that Ofwat plays a role in relation to climate change and net zero, as my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard) also helpfully explained.

  Full debate: Ofwat: Strategic Priorities

• 26 May 2022: Tweet

  So instead of doubling on-shore wind capacity (would mean £6bn off fuel bills & help towards UK’s net zero target); today’s Government statement will increase UK fossil fuel extraction! https://twitter.com/AdamBienkov/status/1529799713326768130 [Source]

• 19 May 2022: Tweet

  RT @SamTarry: We need a transport system fit to tackle the climate crisis and work for the passengers and communities that rely on them. T… [Source]

• 04 May 2022: Tweet

  ???? Climate Change. Labour-led Hounslow declared a climate emergency in June 2019 & published it's climate emergency action plan. This has translated into action- for example new council homes in LBH now have heat pumps! https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/info/20006/environment/2063/climate_emergency/2 [Source]

• 01 Apr 2022: Tweet

  Really looking forward to speaking at @serauk next week about the climate crisis & how trade policy can & should be at the forefront of tackling the climate crisis. You can RSVP below ???? https://twitter.com/serauk/status/1509828955876081673 [Source]

• 23 Mar 2022: Tweet

  RT @HanifKhan_1: Awesome talking with residents on the street in Chiswick Gunnersbury. A ???? to continue implementing our climate emergency… [Source]

• 22 Mar 2022: Tweet

  With the scale of the climate crisis it’s vital that the Government take urgent action to review Heathrow Expansion. Since runway 3 was voted on we’ve had a new carbon budget, the Net Zero Policy & the UK hosting COP26. Last week I urged the Government to review their policy. https://x.com/RuthCadbury/status/1506193976218595334/video/1 [Source]

• 18 Mar 2022: Tweet

  Are you concerned about the climate crisis? This is the message that the Conservative Party Chair has for you. Reminder- Net Zero was a policy passed by a Conservative Prime Minister! https://twitter.com/RichardVaughan1/status/1504802723375554573 [Source]

• 17 Mar 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  I say in response to the Minister’s response to the hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (David Simmonds) that the Secretary of State committed to review the airports national policy statement last July. It has to be done urgently. Since it was adopted four years ago, our net zero commitment has become law, we have adopted a carbon budget and we have held the chair of COP26. What we know about the jet zero strategy and the implications and difficulty of delivering sustainable aviation fuels means that the review must surely come sooner rather than later to incentivise change.

  Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions

• 11 Mar 2022: Tweet

  We need urgent action to lower energy bills, reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels & tackle the climate crisis. @Ed_Miliband has put forward Labour's plan to insulate homes, double our wind energy & expand solar power. https://x.com/RuthCadbury/status/1502223968593489922/photo/1 [Source]

• 10 Mar 2022: Tweet

  RT @Ed_Miliband: For energy security, to get bills down, and tackle the climate crisis it is time for a green energy sprint. We need go fu… [Source]

• 03 Mar 2022: Tweet

  In recently signed free trade agreements we've seen key commitments around the climate crisis removed & the interests of key British industries such as farming ignored. In his response the Minister told me to celebrate this ????2/3 https://x.com/RuthCadbury/status/1499474553323544577/video/1 [Source]

• 13 Dec 2021: Vote

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

• 16 Nov 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  Finally, I want to address the air passenger duty changes. This Government repeatedly say one thing and do another on climate change. If I wanted to buy tickets to go to Glasgow in three weeks I would pay £65 to fly with easyJet from London, yet a train ticket to Glasgow on the same day would cost me £69, and that is before the cut in APD on domestic flights is introduced. The fact that it is still cheaper to fly than to travel by train is a key reason why we are not seeing the reduction in carbon emissions we so desperately need. One way to reduce the number of short-haul flights is to improve train travel, but whether in the choice of routes, the length of journey, the cost of tickets or the experience on board other European countries are miles ahead of the UK and have been for many years. It is no surprise that short-haul domestic flights contribute so heavily to our carbon emissions when this Government have absolutely failed to fix rail travel. And this week we hear they are going to cut the proposed rail services to Leeds and Manchester. This Government are not only failing communities across the country but are failing our climate. The Government should impose the polluter pays principle to their transport policies and the fiscal policies that support them.

  In conclusion, I will oppose the Bill because it punishes low-income households but does nothing to relieve the nightmare for current and future loan charge victims and it treats the climate emergency as an afterthought.

  Full debate: Finance (No. 2) Bill

• 1 Nov 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  With the climate crisis hardly getting a mention in the Budget, nothing was said about green skills. FE colleges are critical in this regard. They provide the essential learning that will be needed, including designing, installing and maintaining heat pumps, solar panels, wind turbines, electric cars and better insulation; and rewilding our natural spaces. We cannot deliver net zero here in the UK if UK people do not have the green skills, and we cannot level up if people who want to work and who want to get better paid work do not have the skills that this country needs in future.

  Full debate: Budget Resolutions

• 15 Jul 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  The ongoing and proposed planning reforms also make it harder to tackle the challenges facing society now and in the future, whether that is the climate crisis, sustainability—as mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester East (Claudia Webbe)—or the future of high streets. Surely with the challenges we face, Government should want to work together with local authorities, civic groups, and many other highly skilled groups in the community, locally and nationally, to address those challenges in the planning system. That system grew out of a need over 100 years ago to address public health concerns in the expanding industrial towns and cities, and the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 was introduced to ensure that public good was at the centre of all development. No one would argue that the planning system is perfect, or that it needs to remain frozen in stone. There are many things that can and do improve the system, as the hon. Member for Isle of Wight said, and would enable the high-quality, truly affordable homes that we need to be built, but the Government reforms are wrong and they are the wrong answer to the question of how we build more homes.

  We need not just bricks and mortar but homes, including affordable homes. We need not just housing estates but communities. The planning system is there to address that and it needs to be protected and enhanced, not decimated, to address not just the numbers game on houses but the climate crisis, the north-south imbalance in this country, traffic congestion and much more.

  This cannot be done in isolation. We need to consider development in the context of other issues such as transport, including providing pavements to new stations; the local economy and jobs; affordable housing of decent quality and designed for the different needs of different people; climate change and biodiversity; community services, including schools, doctors, parks and post offices; and basic infrastructure, as I have mentioned, including power, sewerage, broadband and so on. We need to positively change the planning system, not rip it apart.

  Full debate: Planning

• 22 Jun 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  The planning system needs to be at the centre of the challenge. It can and should be shaping a path towards net zero emissions and our work to improve biodiversity and our natural environment across the country. I will not rehearse the concerns expressed by many Members in last night’s debate about proposals to amend the planning system, but there is no doubt that those working in the field say that the existing protections are inadequate to protect wildlife and wildlife sites.

  Full debate: Planning System Reforms: Wild Belt Designation

• 21 Jun 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  From the outset, the health and wellbeing of people and communities were at the heart of what became the town and country planning system. Planning is making decisions that are central to our lives and that impact on the generations that follow. It is not about churning out housing “units”. It is about delivering homes—enough homes for the full range of pockets and household types, particularly young people who want to get on with their lives. It is not just about building new estates. It is about place making, incorporating the social, transport and physical infrastructure that makes a place a community and ensuring that there are places of work, providing jobs, regeneration and growth. Planning is about deciding how we move towards net zero, how we enhance and improve our biodiversity, how we protect and enhance our natural environment, and how we build strong and sustainable local high streets.

  Specialist housing, which my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle (Emma Hardy) mentioned, protecting our high streets, levelling up, protecting and enhancing our natural environment, delivering net zero, mitigating the impact of climate change—the Government talk the talk on those objectives, but do not walk the walk. The specific proposals are not there, and we cannot support the Government without those details. It feels as if they are just not interested.

  Full debate: Planning Decisions: Local Involvement

• 14 Jun 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  The planning system is integral to addressing the climate crisis and to protecting and enhancing our environment. However, many people rightly questioned the Government’s green credentials when the Secretary of State refused to block the proposed coalmine in Cumbria. Will the Minister therefore take the opportunity to show that the Government take our environment and the climate crisis seriously, and commit to the full suite of clear and measurable environmental targets in the forthcoming planning Bill?

  Full debate: Environmental Protections: Development

• 10 Jun 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  The Government have provided no sector-specific support for the UK aviation industry, unlike in France, Germany and Austria, where Governments are protecting jobs while imposing strong environmental conditions to help reach net zero. Instead of a strategy and sector-specific support, the UK Government flip-flop over international travel.

  Full debate: Aviation, Travel and Tourism Industries

• 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

• 22 Mar 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  The Civil Aviation Authority is the key statutory authority governing aviation, but it has few powers to control noise, or, for that matter, any other environmental objectives such as the climate crisis and the impact of emissions, all of which are subsumed beneath the objective of safety. I have worked for many years—long before I was elected to this place—with my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), and I support his amendment to the Bill to include in the CAA’s remit a duty

  I also support what the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington said about the impact that climate change is having and the need to give powers in that regard to the CAA. That is a really important point. The Government are not yet being clear about how they expect the aviation industry to contribute to their drive towards net zero. It is absolutely essential that we get more clarity on how that will be achieved. Aviation obviously has an important role to play in our economy. It has had an exceptionally tough year, and we know from announcements made only today that the future of aviation continues to be very unsettled. We look forward to more direction from the Government about how they plan to build back better in aviation.

  Full debate: Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Bill [Lords]

• 8 Mar 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  With the UK hosting COP26, we would have thought the Government would have a bold, ambitious and sustainable plan that both tackles the climate crisis and creates high-paid, secure green jobs, with the associated economic stimulus the UK economy so desperately needs, but they do not. They have just a green-focused investment bank, and the Chancellor did not mention that it fails even to plug the gap left behind by leaving the European Investment Bank, nor does it replace the green investment bank that the Conservative Government sold off. There was a £1 billion cut to the green homes grant, which was justified on that grounds that “too few applied”; it was not reformed so that it actually worked for homeowners needing to make their homes energy secure and efficient, while also ensuring there is work for small and local businesses in my constituency and across the country.

  Full debate: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

• 26 Jan 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  The Environmental Audit Committee labelled this Bill a “missed opportunity”. I rise to support amendments in the name of the Opposition and others that could make it fit for our country, in a year in which the eyes of the world are watching us as hosts of the UN COP26 conference on climate change. I only have time to address two issues: the regulation of chemicals now that we have departed from the EU, and air pollution.

  That is right—so why is this Bill being so delayed, and with more delays to come? How can the EU (Future Relationship) Bill be rushed through in one day, while here we are in a climate emergency—as declared by Parliament in May 2019—yet this Bill has taken a year to get to this stage and now it has been announced that the next stage will be in May? Will we even have it passed by autumn?

  This legislation is a good start, but it does not have the teeth necessary to provide the robust protection for the environment that we need. If it is not to become little more than a series of meaningless platitudes, the Office for Environmental Protection and local authorities must have sufficient funding and empowerment to be effective. We need an Act modelled on the Climate Change Act 2008, with regular interim targets to cut not just air pollution but plastic pollution, and to restore nature. For me, the clean air provisions are simply not good enough. We need new legal limits that meet World Health Organisation limits, a new duty on public bodies to do their part in tackling pollution, and a new right to clean air in domestic law. All that is meaningless, however, if the reports are correct and the Bill is delayed until the next Session. More time will be lost, more people will breathe in dangerously polluted air, more damage will be done to our lives, our environment and the planet, and the chances of turning this ecological disaster around will be lost. I hope that the House will support the Opposition amendment.

  Full debate: Environment Bill

• 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

  The impact of covid, to return to the other key topic of the moment, has been devastating for my communities, affecting up to one household in three. We seek support from Government for aviation communities right now, but that support could go hand in hand with actions on the climate crisis. Air travel accounts for 22% of UK greenhouse gas emissions and 7% of total UK emissions. That proportion is growing.

  Unlike countries such as France and Austria, the UK did not provide covid sector-specific support for aviation, so, to date, the Government have missed the chance to impose conditions, and therefore help to introduce changes, on climate emissions. Such conditions would have helped to support not only work to address our zero-emissions target, but aviation communities such as mine.

  The Government should look at emissions from international aviation and shipping, and include those in the Climate Change Act 2008. The Climate Change Committee has also called for the Government to formally include those emissions, so doing so would really show the UK’s leadership on this issue, set a clear policy framework around emissions, and create a clear path to the future. It would also help to boost investment in carbon-saving technology in the aviation sector.

  I will now address two specific aviation issues. On surface transport, we really need the Government to put their money where their mouth is on the western and southern rail links into Heathrow, to get more cars off the road and encourage sustainable transport. We need to require airports to take action on airside vehicles, from coaches, ramps and luggage transport to pushback tugs. In the air, of course, we need the Government to fund research into zero-emission planes, and also to level the price differentials between plane and train journeys to the same destinations.

  In conclusion, I welcome the work the Government have done to support walking and cycling, which helps to cut our personal climate emissions, and look forward to hearing the Government’s response to the Climate Assembly recommendations on aviation.

  Full debate: Climate Change Assembly UK: The Path to Net Zero

• 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

• 16 Mar 2020: Parliamentary Speech

  The elephant in the room in the Budget was the climate crisis. Billions for new roads were found and the freeze on fuel duty was upheld, but there was nothing for active travel or for solar, tidal or hydro power, which scream out for investment. I of course appreciate the fact that the Budget was delivered at a time of extreme uncertainty and that funding has gone to the NHS, but this is not a Budget for the people of this country and did not address the continuing underlying problems facing our society.

  Full debate: Budget Resolutions

• 5 Feb 2020: Parliamentary Speech

  We know full well the challenges of and the solutions to climate change, and we all know just how worried our constituents are about this crisis. Only this morning, at Smallberry Green Primary School in Isleworth, I got asked about climate change not just by a year 5 student, but by a year 2 student.

  I am glad that the Labour Front-Bench team led by my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough (Andy McDonald) concluded in June 2018 that Heathrow expansion is incompatible with our climate change obligations and that Labour would not authorise Heathrow expansion or any other plans that jeopardise those climate targets. The solution we should be promoting—the only carbon-saving solution for aviation that will make a difference before 2050, when electric planes come online—is to address the growth in demand. We need to stop runway 3 at Heathrow, address the pricing disparity between rail and flying, and implement a frequent flyer levy to replace air passenger duty.

  Full debate: Transport

• 05 Feb 2020: Vote

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

• 30 Jan 2020: Parliamentary Speech

  The Labour party, and many UK businesses trading with or in competition with other markets, fear that the Government’s aspiration for quick and dirty deals will undermine our standards, businesses and public services—the very things that many voters thought they were protecting when they voted leave. The “get Brexit done” party is talking about quick negotiations that, as far as I can see, will undermine so much. Such negotiations risk losing what we have achieved as fully participating members of the EU for the past 40 years, including high-quality food and safety, consumer and environmental standards, and workers’ rights. The climate emergency is now at the top of the international political agenda, and is another important aspect in which we risk losing out as we drop down in the pecking order through the international trade negotiations.

  I very, very sadly and reluctantly accept that the UK is leaving the EU at 11 pm tomorrow night. But I and my hon. Friends will continue to demand the power to scrutinise and vote on trade deals so that we can make sure that UK values, and UK businesses and their interests, are at the centre of all future trade deals. It is shocking that the Government removed the power of Parliament to do this in the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020. Labour Members expect parliamentarians to be at the centre of all future trade deals. The reason we want this is to protect our global and our national environment, and to protect our consumer standards and our workers’ rights, but most importantly, for the future of life on earth. Climate change, as I said, must be at the centre of all our trade negotiations. The UK should decarbonise export finance. As my hon. Friend the shadow Secretary of State said, current projects supported by the UK export system, when complete, will dump 69 million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere. The Environmental Audit Committee said in the previous Parliament that this is

  I also concur with the shadow Secretary of State about the atrocity of awarding export licences in respect of arms sales, products used for torture, and other controlled exports. This undermines further our reputation as a morally credible partner across the globe. Labour has called for robust enforcement of export licensing criteria in respect of arms sales and other controlled exports. Personally, I would like the UK to diversify out of the arms industry altogether and put those skills, technologies and jobs into productive technologies in areas such as renewable energy generation.

  Full debate: Global Britain

• 28 Oct 2019: Parliamentary Speech

  Constituents of all ages tell me of their concerns about the environment, climate change, plastics, waste and recycling, wildlife habitats and noise from planes, neighbours and cars. I see no mention of noise in the Bill, which is a worrying omission, but because of my limited time, I will focus on one issue of particular local concern, which is air quality.

  Full debate: Environment Bill

• 17 Oct 2019: Parliamentary Speech

  There is little dispute that we are living in a climate crisis. If serious action is not agreed on and embedded soon, we will reach a tipping point where it will be impossible to reverse global temperature rises. We know that those who will suffer most from a lack of action on the environment will be those who are least well off. Whether they are farmers in low-lying Bangladesh hit by flash floods or children in cities growing up breathing polluted air, the poorest are hit hardest by our lack of action.

  I recently met the children at Belmont primary school in Chiswick during their amazing climate awareness week. They are already urging their parents to switch energy providers to renewable sources and to use their cars less, but however much individual households change their habits, change needs to start from the top. To have any hope of achieving net zero by 2050 we need clear Government targets now.

  No issue is more totemic than transport. It is responsible for 27% of greenhouse gas emissions, yet the sector is the slowest in addressing emissions. Replacing all petrol and diesel vehicles with electric will not scratch the surface of the challenge. Also, how can we make a difference when it is far cheaper to fly 400 km than to travel that distance by train? I am disappointed that the Queen’s Speech mentioned no legislation to cut transport emissions.

  If the Government want to take one simple step towards the carbon target for the UK, they can scrap the third runway proposal for Heathrow. That scheme means an additional 6 million tonnes of CO 2 . Yet Government figures show that the net economic benefit of the scheme is zero. Seventy per cent. of UK flights are made by just 15% of the population. Runway 3 is not even being built to fulfil business needs, as international business travel is flatlining. Almost all the additional passengers at Heathrow after expansion will be UK- based people taking leisure flights abroad—and those are Department for Transport figures. Yesterday, the Government rejected the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change, which had said that they should assess their airport capacity strategy in the context of net zero. The Government’s response stated that the matter should instead be addressed by the UN.

  Zero-emission planes will not come on stream until 2050 at the earliest—far too late to address aviation’s disproportionate impact on UK emissions. In other words, in the UK’s response, the Government are not accepting responsibility for getting UK aviation emissions down to net zero. They say they may do so “at a later date”. That is deeply disappointing.

  Full debate: The Climate Emergency

• 4 Jul 2019: Parliamentary Speech

  It is a pleasure to speak in the debate. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for allowing it, and I thank those hon. Members who have pushed for it. The Government have finally acknowledged that there is a climate crisis, but the 2050 net zero emission target and the ending of sales of fossil fuel vehicles in 2040 are too late. I support the movers of this debate in proposing to bring forward the date at which we stop selling new diesel and petrol cars to 2030. The shift does not just impact on our CO 2 emissions; many people across the country, including many in my constituency, are exposed to toxic air, and they want to see changes. Tens of thousands of people are dying from air pollution now, and the poorest people in society are being affected the most by air pollution.

  Last week, I had the pleasure of joining the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, in unveiling the Chiswick oasis, a 400-foot screen wall that protects St Mary’s Primary School and William Hogarth Primary School in Chiswick from the toxic air from the A4 next door. People from across the community came together and showed that they want to see action to stop the air pollution epidemic. Mayor Sadiq Khan has also introduced London’s ultra-low emission zone, which is set to reduce air pollution in central London by 45%, and his leadership in implementing low and zero emission bus fleets is already showing significant reductions in pollutants on roads such as Chiswick High Road.

  Finally, by moving forward the deadline for net zero CO 2 emissions, we need to inject much-needed urgency into the policy. The clearest message that I have heard from the hundreds of people who have contacted me about climate change is that they want us to take urgent action. They do not want just more warm words; they want us to take the lead. Let us put the UK at the front of the global fight against climate change and air pollution by taking much bolder steps.

  Full debate: Sale of New Petrol and Diesel Cars and Vans

• 25 Jun 2019: Vote

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

• 13 Jun 2019: Parliamentary Speech

  I refer to the Secretary of State’s response to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington (Emma Dent Coad) on runway three. I will try again. Given that the Government have now followed the Opposition in committing to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, surely the Secretary of State must see that Parliament might now vote a different way on a project that emits 6 million tonnes of carbon emissions per annum and provides zero net benefit to the UK economy?

  Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions

• 1 May 2019: Parliamentary Speech

  I heard Greta Thunberg speak at the meeting here last week, where, on behalf of her generation, she demanded that we declare a climate crisis and take serious, effective action based on what scientists tell us. At that meeting, and again today, we heard lots of warm words from the Environment Secretary, but he is always weak on new action. If this country is to justify our reputation as world leaders in carbon reduction and on the environment, far more needs to be done.

  Thirdly, I suggest that the Government support and listen to a citizens’ assembly on climate and ecological justice. The Government plan to take us out of the EU, which has, among its other environmental policies, ensured that UK beaches are now clean and pollution free. At the same time, they will roll out the red carpet for President Trump, who claims that global warming is a hoax and has pulled the US out of the Paris agreement. On the climate and environmental crises, let the warm words be matched by serious action.

  Full debate: Environment and Climate Change

• 28 Jun 2018: Parliamentary Speech

  Through the Greater London Authority, the London Mayor is rolling out his ultra-low emission zone. I would like it to go further out towards the M25, but it is a good start. There is also the T-charge, and Mayor Khan is promoting low and zero-emission bus fleets. But all this is not enough without a Government who are taking the issue seriously, with real legislative action. Given that the UK has consistently been in breach of the nitrogen dioxide limits since they became binding in 2010, the Government should not merely enable but enforce, and take action to bring the UK within those limits. A targeted diesel scrappage scheme, as the hon. Member for Milton Keynes South said, should not punish those on low incomes and should be nuanced. We also need a comprehensive 21st-century clean air Act.

  Full debate: Improving Air Quality

• 25 Jun 2018: Parliamentary Speech

  There is nothing in the NPS on the air pollution generated by aircraft, and there is nothing on climate change obligations that will satisfy the Committee on Climate Change, as we will no doubt hear on Thursday. All the additional passengers arising from expansion will be outward leisure passengers and transfer passengers. The increase will bring nothing to the economy and will take the tourist pound away from the UK’s beautiful tourist destinations. Heathrow expansion means more intense use of existing routes such as New York. It will restrict growth at non-south-east airports by 24%—those are not my figures but the Department’s—reduce domestic routes to Heathrow from the current eight to four or five, and mean 160,000 fewer international links from regional airports, thus making our regions less connected to the rest of the world than they are now, according to page 27 of the Transport Committee’s report.

  Full debate: National Policy Statement: Airports

• 7 Jun 2018: Parliamentary Speech

  Despite promises to MPs, the Transport Committee report showed that all the growth in passenger numbers are outbound leisure travellers—that is, yet more Brits taking their holiday pound away from Britain’s beautiful places, which would really benefit from more tourists. The Committee said that if the UK is to comply with its commitment to cut carbon dioxide emissions, then if runway three goes ahead, growth will have to be curbed at all other UK airports. Furthermore, other sectors of the economy face serious reductions and restraints to keep UK carbon emissions within the limits.

  Full debate: Airports National Policy Statement

• 25 Oct 2017: Parliamentary Speech

  Increases in passenger numbers are regularly cited as the rationale for airport expansion, but interestingly the number of air traffic movements grew by only 0.6% between 2000 and 2014. Obviously, there are restrictions at Heathrow in that respect. Let us move on to climate change, because it is an important issue.

  As the hon. Lady moves on to climate change, does she agree that, with Brexit looming and its likely impact on air travel to and from the continent, there is a case for re-examining the possible impact on all our airports?

  If the Government are serious about meeting climate change targets, restrictions on growth at other airports will be essential if Heathrow is expanded. The Aviation Environment Foundation estimates that to remain compatible with the target of the Climate Change Act 2008 of limiting aviation emissions to 37.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2050, 36% fewer passengers would have to fly in and out of airports in the south-west, 11% fewer in Scotland, 14% fewer in the north-west and 55% fewer in the west midlands.

  Aviation is absent from the clean growth plan. If a third runway is constructed, by 2050 emissions from aviation will constitute about 25% of total UK emissions. That will require significant reductions and restrictions in other sectors of the economy, including the complete decarbonisation of the rest of the transport sector. I do not see the Department for Transport moving very fast to do that. The Committee on Climate Change said that allowing aviation emissions to overshoot their target, as would be inevitable with a new runway, would imply other sectors making cuts beyond what is feasible.

  Full debate: Airport Expansion: Economic and Environmental Impact

• 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

• 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

• 08 Sep 2015: Vote

  Bill Presented — Devolution (London) Bill — Clause 45 — CCL: removal of exemption for electricity from renewable sources - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No