Global Population Growth
Lord Fowler Excerpts(5 years ago)
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The Minister of State, Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park) (Con) [V]
My Lords, at COP 26 we will seek to address the steps needed to reduce emissions in line with the Paris agreement. The UK presidency will focus on five campaigns in the areas of energy, transport, nature, finance and adaptation and resilience. Population growth is not an explicit focus for the COP. At the Climate Ambition Summit in December, the COP 26 president-designate set out four strategic aims for COP 26: a step change in mitigation; a strengthening of adaptation; getting finance flowing; and enhancing international collaboration.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
Did the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, have a supplementary question? No.
Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)
My Lords, does the Government not recognise that the pressures of increasing global population lead to cut and burn of vegetation and a number of other pressures, including, of course, drought and conflict? The question is what the Government are going to do about it. If they fail to raise it at COP, will they do something more and raise it, for example, at the UN Security Council? Will they encourage by their development policies family spacing, which is very much a women’s issue and could lead to a more acceptable population movement globally?
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]
My Lords, COP 26 is just one staging post this year. It is a significant and major event, but we also have the Convention on Biological Diversity, we are presidents of the G7 and we will have the G20 as well. We have a number of events hosted, for example, by the new US President to raise these issues up the agenda. We will be using all these events to do all that we can to push for a coherent approach to tackling climate change and nature destruction. That of course includes increasing support for initiatives around family planning and the education of women and girls.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed, although the screen has become a little eccentric in its recording of that. We come now to the second Oral Question.
United States: Diplomatic Relations
Lord Fowler Excerpts(5 years ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, as the noble Lord will be aware, we welcome the re-engagement of the US, in particular on its obligations through NATO. That will form the basis of how the United States continues to strengthen defence alliances with the United Kingdom and others in the defence of not just the interests of the United States but those of its allies.
In paying tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Wallace, as a historian, I remind noble Lords that we come together on the eve of the famous speech given 75 years ago in 1946 by Winston Churchill when he defined what the relationship was all about. He said that
“in the days to come the British and American peoples will, for their own safety and for the good of all, walk together side by side in majesty, in justice and in peace.”
Long may that last.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked. We now move to the next Question, which is the fourth Oral Question and I call the noble Lord, Lord Randall of Uxbridge.
Pandemics and Environmental Degradation
Lord Fowler Excerpts(5 years, 1 month ago)
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Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]
My Lords, the United Kingdom has played a leading role internationally in raising the profile and the importance of tackling nature loss. We co-drafted the unprecedented Leaders’ Pledge for Nature, which has now been signed by 80 countries. We run the Global Ocean Alliance and are co-leading the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, calling for 30% of the world’s land and ocean to be protected by the end of this decade. Through our presidency of the COP we have put nature at the heart of the global response to climate change. I do not think that any country in the world is doing more heavy lifting or more generally to push the need to reverse nature degradation to the very forefront of the global agenda.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed. We now come to the third Oral Question and I call the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw.
Covid-19: Surplus Vaccine Doses
Lord Fowler Excerpts(5 years, 1 month ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I hear my noble friend, who speaks with great experience of the health sector. As he is aware, COVAX is explicitly designed to work for high-income, low-income and middle-income countries. That is why the Government led the AMC facility to ensure equitable access to the 92 most vulnerable countries. We continue to collaborate with other key partners through our influence at the World Health Organization, GAVI and CEPI to ensure that the COVAX AMC facility is fully supported by all.
Overseas Territories: Humanitarian and Disaster Relief
Lord Fowler Excerpts(5 years, 1 month ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
I assure my noble friend that we are taking the example of the territories that have established these reserve units to see how others can build up their capacity and capability. I continue to engage with my noble friend who initiated this process. I assure my noble friend Lord Flight further that the overseas territories work very much in a collaborative fashion, as I have seen myself, whether in the sharing of assets or training, or in learning from each other. We as a Government facilitate those discussions.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked and we now move to the fourth Oral Question.
Flooding
Lord Fowler Excerpts(5 years, 2 months ago)
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Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]
My noble friend was, I think, referring to dredging, which certainly can play a part in flood-risk management. However, the truth is that it can also make flooding worse downstream. Over each of the past three years, the EA has spent between £50 million and £55 million to manage the flow in channels. This allows the EA to dredge around 200 kilometres of river channel every year. Where there is evidence that dredging will reduce flood risk without increasing flooding downstream, and where it meets the Government’s criteria and is affordable, we will do it. However, we need to make sure that it is done in the right place; otherwise, we might end up with perverse outcomes.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
The time allowed for this Question has elapsed, and that brings us to end of Question Time.
Nagorno-Karabakh
Lord Fowler Excerpts(5 years, 2 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, as I have already said, I assure my noble friend that the Government have implored both sides to protect all citizens, particularly those in Nagorno-Karabakh, to make sure they have their rights protected and guaranteed. My noble friend will be aware that it is a long-standing government policy that genocide is a matter for judicial decision rather than for Governments or non-judicial bodies.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed. That brings us to the end of Question Time.
Circular Economy and Elimination of Waste
Lord Fowler Excerpts(5 years, 2 months ago)
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Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]
UK law can already be used to set requirements in relation to electronic equipment: on durability, repairability and recyclability. BEIS has run a call for evidence, which will be completed in June. Following that, BEIS and Defra have commissioned research to prioritise energy-related products for future eco-design regulation. I cannot confirm whether that work covers the security aspect that the noble Baroness raised, but I will write to her on that specifically following this session.
International Soft Power Strategy: Role of BBC
Lord Fowler Excerpts(5 years, 2 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
As I have already said, the integrated review is a vital part of that, and all these component elements will be in the announcement of the findings of the integrated review. The BBC World Service provides an important source of communication and information, as we have heard from noble Lords, and it will continue to be part of our thinking. The issue of soft power around the world is a key part of what we do. Whether we look at the BBC, some of our scholarships or global Britain’s place in the world through the Commonwealth, all of these are part and parcel of our soft power strategy and part of what will feature in the announcement of the integrated review.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked. We now move to the second Oral Question.
United States: Global Priorities and Climate Change
Lord Fowler Excerpts(5 years, 3 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I speak on behalf of my right honourable friend the Prime Minister, and I remember his commitment to this agenda when he was Foreign Secretary. It starts from the bottom up, and his commitment to girls’ education demonstrates his commitment to this important priority. I am sure that, as we build up to COP and at the event itself, the point the noble Baroness makes on gender will be reflected in representations not just from the UK but across the globe.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked. We now move to the next Question.