Duncan Hames

in the region. What forward planning is his Department preparing to respond to the increased likelihood of future flashpoints such as this, caused in part by climate change?

[Source]

Mr Hague

The agencies state that the food insecurity situation in the region is the most serious in the world today. We are doing a great deal. My right hon. Friend the International Development Secretary was there at the weekend and announced a further £52 million of aid. We are the second largest bilateral humanitarian donor to this region in the world, after the United States. On the longer-term issues, we are one of the foremost countries in the world in putting climate change at the heart of foreign policy considerations, and this is one of the reasons for that. The Department for International Development will give consideration to other longer-term measures that now need to be taken.

[Source]

Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)

May I join the hon. Member for Wrexham (Ian Lucas) in his bid? May I also commend the Foreign Secretary for placing so much emphasis on climate change? Will he use the next CHOGM to progress the matter so that we can carry the agenda forward in continents such as Africa that are battling with famine now but previously with drought?

[Source]

Mr Hague

Yes. Climate change is an enormously important subject for the Commonwealth, which is a remarkable network now encompassing almost a third of the world’s population across many different continents and climatic zones, so I hope that climate change will continue to be discussed in many different Commonwealth forums and that we can use our membership to promote the legally binding global deal on combating climate change. That is what we need.

[Source]

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr William Hague)

Yesterday I attended the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, which reached strong conclusions on Libya, Syria, climate change, Afghanistan and Pakistan. No conclusions were reached on a common security and defence policy. I made it clear that we could not agree to the creation of an EU permanent operational headquarters.

[Source]