Harpreet Uppal
Main Page: Harpreet Uppal (Labour - Huddersfield)Department Debates - View all Harpreet Uppal's debates with the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
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Ed Miliband
My hon. Friend has enormous expertise on these issues, which he showed with his question. BOGA, as it is known, has played a really important role in assembling this coalition of more than 80 countries over the global north and global south. Indeed, I was proud to be part of an event and this precedent we set with the alliance on these issues.
My hon. Friend’s wider point is correct: this is hard. There are countries that are resistant to this change and think that previous agreements went too far. That is part of the dialogue being had at these COPs. I think we learn a lesson from what has happened on coal though. The progress the world has made on coal, including the UK, is partly reflected in the agreement at COP26, but it is also about the high-ambition coalitions that form together. As I said in response to an earlier question, we have to do both these things. We have to work in the context of the agreements—but, because they rely on unanimity, we cannot always get what we want—and then we have to work in these broader coalitions.
Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield) (Lab)
It was disappointing to hear from the shadow Secretary of State that tackling climate change and attending COP is student politics. Clearly it is not; it is about grown-ups coming to the table. I thank the Secretary of State and his team for their commitment and work to get the agreement at COP. As we start looking towards COP31, how are we advancing and monitoring the domestic implementation of our nationally determined contributions? Can the Secretary of State also set out how global agreements at COP translate to practical support for communities and businesses in Huddersfield?
Ed Miliband
My hon. Friend made a very important point with her opening remarks, which I will let Members absorb. On her specific questions, we have a very important carbon budget monitoring system within Government. It is important to say that at the same time as the Conservatives are saying that they want to rip up the Act that they supported, and that David Cameron even had a hand in helping to shape from opposition, so many countries around the world still ask us about it and want to work out how to emulate it. It is head-spinning really.
On my hon. Friend’s point about her constituents, she is absolutely right. In so many different ways, we want to support her constituents. This is about not just future generations but good jobs today, cutting bills, helping community organisations to put solar panels on their rooftops, schools and hospitals and all those things. It is about bringing the benefits of clean energy to her community and communities across Britain.