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Steve Race's Speeches In Parliament Related to Climate

We've found 17 Parliamentary debates in which Steve Race has spoken about climate-related matters.

Here are the relevant sections of their speeches.

• 24 Jun 2026: Climate Change

  17:04

  I welcome the draft order and regulations laid before the House. The timing for this debate obviously could not be more apt; not only is it currently London Climate Action Week, with Exeter Climate Forum taking place next week, but here in the UK and across Europe we are currently experiencing extreme temperatures. Frankly, this is not normal. The science of this is settled; what we ought to be doing, and what we must continue to do, is limiting climate change, mitigating its impact and continuing to grow the economy.

  This Labour Government are delivering world-leading climate action, driving jobs, growth and investment in every corner of the UK. Setting the target in this seventh climate budget is the goal, but the means by which we meet that target is what we will be judged on by future generations. If we are to meet the targets set out today, as well as our nearer-term 2030 commitments, we must now turn our attention to the acceleration of delivery at pace and at scale. Central to that effort is a new and enabling approach to climate technology.

  Just this morning, I spoke at the Startup Coalition and British Business Bank’s energy innovation event with climate tech founders, investors and policymakers representing more than £10 billion-worth of scale-ups. We are fortunate to be home to firms at the forefront of energy innovation, not just in Europe but the world over. I am proud to say that the south-west is already leading the way. My home city of Exeter is home to the Met Office and the University of Exeter, both of which are pioneering in weather forecasting, ocean science, climate modelling, conservation and climate tech. Of the top 21 climate scientists in the world, five are based in the UK, and all of them are based in Exeter. The wider south-west economy already contributes £1.5 billion to our net zero economy, and the firms that make up this economy are at the cutting edge, from small modular nuclear reactors and tidal energy systems to low-carbon construction methods and sustainable food technologies.

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  18:27

  I want to talk about our innovators, who are too often held back by a system that is not keeping pace with the urgency of the challenges we face. Time and again, climate tech companies tell us that regulation is the single biggest barrier to scaling and deploying tech—not access to capital or talent, though those matter, but regulation. One founder I spoke to this morning said that he is deploying his tech in Estonia, Morocco and elsewhere, and that it was easier to do so in those countries than in the UK, despite his not speaking a word of Estonian or Arabic.

  The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 was a welcome step, introducing statutory timelines and embedding net zero into the decision making, but on the ground progress is still too slow. Developers still face years of delay and inconsistent decisions across local authorities. If we are to meet the scale and pace required by carbon budget 7, we must go further. We should look at a national net zero test for planning decisions that provides consistency and clarity. We should also have a climate fast-track for essential infrastructure such as electric vehicle charging, solar power and battery storage. That could help to unlock projects that are critical to reducing emissions and lowering costs for consumers.

  The Government have set the destination, and this carbon budget provides a credible and vital milestone along that journey, but to reach it we must ensure that our regulation keeps pace with our best and brightest. Our climate tech companies can get us there, but only if we help them to help us.

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• 18 May 2026: Backing Business to Create Economic Growth

  18:51

  Secondly, we must embrace the technological revolution. Exeter already leads the way in green energy, digital infrastructure and research. Artificial intelligence presents great challenges but also great opportunities, and I want Exeter to be at the heart of the tech revolution. From our world-leading universities to our thriving science parks, such as Exeter science park, and science institutions such as the Met Office, the south-west has become a powerhouse for scientific discovery and technological advancement.

  Growth will come from tackling the climate emergency, developing the post-carbon technologies that will save us, and managing the just transition to an environmentally sustainable economy. All this requires an active state to take long-term decisions on investment and research. It requires successful and supported world-class universities, such as Exeter University, to deliver the job-ready graduates our businesses need, and to actively help innovators to commercialise and productise their research—to start up and spin out, and to scale up. It needs more active and deeper capital markets so that British innovation can more easily become British success.

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• 23 Apr 2026: UK-EU Relations

  09:55

  From pandemics and health emergencies to the impact of climate change and Russian aggression on our border, residents in Exeter know that the EU and the UK have shared challenges and opportunities. What discussions has the Minister had on forming a UK-EU resilience partnership, as suggested by UK in a Changing Europe, so we can effectively manage those shared challenges together?

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• 16 Apr 2026: British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme

  The Secretary of State will know that the south-west and Exeter is home to a nationally significant cluster of high-value manufacturing businesses and is identified in the Government’s industrial strategy as a key region for advanced manufacturing, with critical clusters in nuclear, green energy, defence and critical minerals. The last Government had some choice words for business—I will not repeat them here, Madam Deputy Speaker, because they are unparliamentary—but can the Secretary of State set out how this Government are working in partnership with businesses, including those in my region of the south-west, to ensure that they can prosper and succeed into the future?

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• 21 Jan 2026: Clean Energy Projects

  I, too, congratulate the Government and welcome last week’s announcement of the most successful European auction round to date. It is great news for the UK and for our action on climate change, and it bodes well for the full Celtic sea floating offshore wind opportunity, which is important for Exeter, the wider south-west and Wales too. Will the Secretary of State explain how this landmark step forward for offshore wind will mean new jobs and lower bills for constituents in Exeter, Wales and right across the country?

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• 9 Dec 2025: Railways Bill

  16:23

  Since I was elected, I have been proud to see Exeter continue to grow in size and economic importance. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Last year, our city was ranked sixth in the PwC’s “Good Growth for Cities” index. We in Exeter can see what good, equitable growth looks like—in climate tech, in scientific research and in education—and public transport is a key driver of it. Indeed, Exeter and Devon folk are avid railway users. Our passenger numbers exceeded the pre-covid peak long before many other cities. However, rail performance has often been poor under the current system; all three major operators across the two main lines and the several branch lines have been affected by long-term delays and cancellations, and critical infrastructure has needed investment.

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• 17 Nov 2025: Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Power Station: Wylfa

  I welcome the announcement of the new SMRs at Wylfa. This is British innovation we can be proud of, leading to decarbonisation of our electricity grid, and helping to combat climate change. It is exactly the sort of policy that my Exeter constituents want from this Government. Does the Minister agree that supply chains at Wylfa and Sizewell C will benefit businesses and workers across the entire United Kingdom, alongside the local areas where they are based?

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• 16 Oct 2025: Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill

  14:29

  I know that people in Exeter care very deeply about our natural environment, particularly the seas and oceans, and rightly so. The world’s oceans are vital to the health of our planet and to our people. They produce over half of the world’s oxygen and absorb a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions, helping to regulate our climate. They support an immense diversity of life, providing food for billions of people and supporting enormous ecosystems, which contain knowledge that we have only just begun to tap.

  Just as the UK is a leader in marine and climate science, so is Exeter. I was delighted this week to host in Parliament the Met Office, which is based in Exeter, to showcase the range and depth of its expertise. The Met Office is not just a specialist in our weather. It is also a specialist in space weather, our oceans, and the connection between climate change and forecasting. Its work on ocean biogeochemistry—studying how carbon and other gases are absorbed, transported and exchanged by the oceans, the mechanisms involved and the impact changes have—is pioneering. It researches the risks of rapid loss of sea ice, and is studying the rise of sea levels and the impacts on communities, the environment and the economy.

  In addition, the University of Exeter has a wide-ranging research community working on projects related to our oceans. These come together under the Exeter Marine research network, and their ocean research runs from pollution and conservation to governance and human health. In June this year, Exeter University’s Professor Callum Roberts was the lead author of a report in Nature supporting the UN high seas treaty. His paper highlighted that the high seas are the Earth’s largest and most secure carbon sink. Protecting them is critical to preserving the biological and nutrient cycles that draw down and keep atmospheric CO2 in check. They welcome the UN high seas treaty, saying it offers a pathway to greater protection, but they are concerned about the length of time for implementation. The report’s authors also argue that a full and permanent ban on extractive use of the oceans is both feasible and necessary, modelled on the successful precedent set for Antarctica in the 1950s. Will the Minister comment on what more can be done, beyond the treaty as we bring it in, to protect our oceans above and beyond this legislation?

  I commend the Bill. I am extraordinarily thrilled and pleased to support it. I know that the ratification of the agreement as soon as possible supports the UK’s broader climate and nature agenda, and will mean that we can take our seat at the top table at the first COP. That will ensure we remain at the forefront of global efforts to tackle biodiversity loss and climate change through multilateral co-operation. This will strengthen the role of international law—so important in these times—and multilateral institutions as the foundation for ocean governance.

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• 24 Apr 2025: EU Trading Relationship

  Closer economic ties mean growth. They mean investment in green energy, digital infrastructure and research, which are all sectors in which Exeter is already leading the way. They could now also mean opportunities for our next generation of young people to study, work and thrive across our shared continent.

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• 23 Apr 2025: Intellectual Property: Artificial Intelligence

  15:02

  The Government are already creating space for those opportunities with the AI opportunities action plan. I have written to the Department in support of the Exeter science park’s application to host a new AI growth zone. Building the UK’s sovereign compute capacity to enable UK-based AI models and cloud computing across the country, including in Exeter, will be vital to securing the investment, jobs and future tech creativity that will continue to shape our lives, and meet some of the great challenges of our times, including the very greatest—climate change.

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• 13 Feb 2025: Topical Questions

  As the Secretary of State knows, the south-west peninsula already contributes significantly to the UK economy, including through life sciences and climate tech. We are, however, held back from reaching our full potential by under-investment in transport connectivity, which is made worse by upcoming works at Old Oak Common and the continuing bottleneck on the A303. Will the Minister commit to developing a strategic investment plan to ensure that the south-west peninsula has the transport infrastructure it needs to unlock further growth?

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• 30 Jan 2025: International Investment

  09:30

  The south-west is home to an incredibly important economy based on defence, food security, space, maritime, and, in Exeter, life sciences and climate tech and research. We are also home to huge green energy potential, utilising floating offshore wind. However, we currently need investment in our port facilities so that the new green jobs will be based in the south-west, not in France or elsewhere. Will the Minister meet me, along with colleagues and the sector, to discuss to the future of green energy generation in the south-west?

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• 11 Dec 2024: Rail Services: Devon

  16:33

  At the heart of our dynamic economy lies the University of Exeter, which is world-leading in life sciences, material sciences, climate sciences, marine sciences and engineering. Exeter college is the best in the country and attracts students from across the region due to its excellent mix of academic and apprenticeship courses. The Met Office is world-renowned for its climate science and space weather work, and its oceanographic mapping is vital for many businesses. In addition, according to the ScaleUp Institute, Exeter is a growing start-up and scale-up ecosystem in climate tech, health and manufacturing. In short, Exeter’s economy is thriving in sectors that are important for the future of the UK economy.

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  16:34

  Research commissioned by the Rail Delivery Group shows that the rail industry generated £1.1 billion in economic, environmental and social benefits to the south-west over the previous year, and that rail customers contributed £2.7 billion through spending in local communities. If we secure 40% rail growth by 2035 by delivering improvements to our network, that could bring an additional £700 million in benefits to the south-west. Greenhouse gas emissions locally would decrease by 1,200 tonnes; congestion, which blights my city, would be reduced by 8 million hours; and 72 road traffic accidents would be prevented.

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• 12 Nov 2024: Topical Questions

  T5. I am proud that Exeter is already a global leader in climate research. Does the Minister agree that this Government’s mission on clean power will deliver lower bills, energy security and allow this country to enter COP29 as a world leader when it comes to climate action?

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• 6 Nov 2024: Budget Resolutions

  I am particularly pleased that this Budget commits the UK to an R&D budget of £20 billion, which will mean Exeter and the UK remain at the forefront of scientific innovation. From climate change to land management, healthcare to biotechnology and beyond, Exeter is already a hub for scientific research, but we can do even more.

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• 17 Oct 2024: Business of the House

  11:41

  Last night, the University of Exeter, the Met Office and Peers for the Planet launched the latest edition of “The Parliamentarians’ Guide to Climate Change”, which is a vital resource for us all. Will the Leader of the House welcome that report, as I do, and will she commend it to Members of this House and the other House?

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• 9 Sep 2024: Transport

  19:34

  Today, five of the world’s top 21 climate scientists are UK based and all of them work for our globally renowned University of Exeter and the Met Office. Along with these two institutions and a growing ecosystem of businesses, Exeter is home to a large and ever-growing research and innovation base that is at the forefront of combating and mitigating the effects of climate change. It has become fashionable in some circles to denigrate our universities. I reject this entirely: they stand as beacons of intellectual excellence, the future success of our knowledge economy and the hope of wider educational opportunity for many people.

  We know that scientific research and innovation, whether on tackling climate change or in medical advances, will make the lives of people in this country and around the world better, but the Government have to recognise the vital role of our universities in economic growth and take advantage of the many opportunities for partnership with the NHS and across the public sector.

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See all Parliamentary Speeches Mentioning Climate