Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had discussions with his international counterparts on the potential merits of expanding GPS farm mapping systems in order to identify unusual bouts of production as potential sites of illegal deforestation.
Answered by Greg Hands
Through the Forest Agriculture and Commodities Trade Dialogue, (co-chaired by the UK and Indonesia), the UK is working with 28 partner countries to deliver a roadmap for action on sustainable trade while protecting forests. This includes commitments to improve and enhance global Traceability and Transparency T&T) systems that provide the basis for certification schemes and assurance of origin of forest risk commodities. Through this policy discussion FACT governments have collectively agreed, as a first step, to commission research to identify data gaps in T&T systems. This will enable the Government to consider how to support countries and stakeholders to identify and access funding, technical assistance and capacity building to strengthen T&T systems.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the value is of his Department's underspend on climate finance and foreign aid.
Answered by Jane Hunt
Around £100m from the BEIS International Climate Finance budget in 2022-23 has been identified to be handed back to HM Treasury.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the total value of climate finance and foreign aid underspending is that has been diverted to the Ministry of Defence.
Answered by Jane Hunt
Around £100m from the BEIS International Climate Finance budget in 2022-23 has been identified to be handed back to HM Treasury.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to remove unsustainable legal deforestation from UK supply chains, as recommended by the Climate Change Committee in its most recent Progress Report to Parliament.
Answered by Greg Hands
The UK Government is tackling unsustainable legal deforestation through two key initiatives:
The UK and US are convening 13 of the world’s largest agri-commodity trader companies who have committed to developing a roadmap for COP27. This roadmap focuses on accelerated supply chain action, to reduce emissions from land use change, and working with key stakeholders to address the root causes of deforestation.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Glasgow Climate Pact, whether his Department plans to amend the UK's Nationally Determined Contribution before the end of 2022.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government is continuing to review the latest available evidence to ensure that its target remains aligned with the Paris temperature goal and exploring other ways to strengthen its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
The Government will publish any updates to the NDC ahead of the UN synthesis report deadline on 23 September and urges other parties to do the same.