COP30: Food System Transformation Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Carolyn Harris
Main Page: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)Department Debates - View all Carolyn Harris's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(1 day, 17 hours ago)
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Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)
COP30, as with past COPs, requires us to be more sustainable, and that includes food production, as the hon. Member said. In Caerfyrddin, we have a public farm producing vegetables for schools and residential homes, so public land is being used for public benefit. Why can all local authorities not follow suit, supported as we were by shared prosperity fund funding, and use public funds and public land for the public plate?
Carolyn Harris (in the Chair)
Order. I remind Members that interventions need to be short, not a speech.
Ann Davies
No, it is not a speech. Thank you, Mrs Harris; I appreciate your guidance. Does the hon. Member agree with that sustainable and seasonal way of reducing food miles by using public land?
Several hon. Members rose—
Carolyn Harris (in the Chair)
Order. I remind hon. Members that this is an hour-long debate. The hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire has already been very generous in allowing interventions, which has limited the time that Back Benchers have left to speak. We will start the Front-Bench speeches at 5.08 pm, so Back-Bench speeches are now limited to two and a half minutes. The Opposition party Front Benchers will have five minutes each and the Minister will have 10 minutes. Anyone who takes interventions is likely to upset colleagues.
Sir Alec Shelbrooke
I think the hon. Lady might be rather upset if—[Interruption.]
Carolyn Harris (in the Chair)
Order. Would you not speak from a sedentary position? I call the shadow Minister.
Sir Alec Shelbrooke
Thank you, Mrs Harris. It is interesting that the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings) mentions the leader of her party, who was of course an Energy Minister at that time, but the process took place under the party’s then leader.
Saying that net zero is hard to achieve is very different from saying that we are chucking out all ideas about climate change. It is a false target, but it needs to be worked towards. I participated in every aspect of the Energy Bill, so I am not just saying all this off the back of my hand. One thing I mentioned throughout that process is that it is important to take people with us, because this has to be a joint effort if we are to achieve the objectives that we want to achieve.