Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the report by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review, published on 2 February, what steps they will take in response to the contribution of global population growth to climate change.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The independent Dasgupta Review explores a range of actions it argues are needed to protect the environment and our prosperity. The Government will examine the Review's findings closely, call on international partners to do the same, and will respond formally in due course. The review focuses on biodiversity, rather than climate change and carbon emissions.
It is growth in levels of consumption driven by unsustainable development that influences carbon emissions, and increases climate change, rather than population growth itself.
The UK supports many low income countries to plan for population growth and harness a demographic dividend, including through UK aid investments in voluntary family planning and 12 years of quality education. Effective investments in health and education can also build the adaptive capacity of communities to respond to climate change.
Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which intergovernmental agencies in which they participate involve representatives of churches and faith organisations.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government participates in a large number of intergovernmental bodies including but not limited to the UN. Many of these bodies involve churches and faith organisations in their work and discussions in one capacity or another, whether regularly or periodically. We believe that faith and belief leaders have a valuable role to play in in promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief and in other areas particularly in regards to other human rights issues and we will continue to work with them both within intergovernmental bodies and elsewhere.