Climate Change

Luke Murphy Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Luke Murphy (Basingstoke) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the UK’s progress towards achieving the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting time for this important debate. I am also grateful to the members of the all-party parliamentary group on climate change—of which I am the chair—whose commitment reflects the strength of feeling on this issue in this House and across our constituencies. I also thank the APPG’s secretariat for their dedication to ensuring we have the evidence and expertise to drive forward meaningful discussion on climate progress.

Some still ask why progress on tackling climate change matters at a time when living standards, economic growth and public services are much higher up the list of the public’s priorities. The truth is that action on climate change is inextricably linked to those priorities. Just in the past few weeks, it has been demonstrated that our energy security and living standards are indivisible from our climate ambitions. Many of our constituents are already feeling, or worrying about, the severe instability that the Iran war has caused for prices at the pump, heating oil and future energy bills, as well as its wider indirect impacts on the cost of things like the food they put on the table.

That is because this is not an energy crisis; it is an oil and gas crisis, one that comes only a few years after the last oil and gas shock, which was caused by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. That crisis caused household energy bills to soar by 80% and inflation in the economy to increase to 11%, and resulted in a taxpayer bail-out of nearly £60 billion. These crises are not new—history is repeating itself. Since 1970, half of our country’s recessions have been caused by oil and gas price shocks. The truth is that the UK is paying the price for a broken global energy system, upon which every household is dependent. Indeed, research has shown that the cost of cutting UK emissions to net zero is less than the cost of a single fossil fuel price shock.

We see the consequences in our communities every day, with rugby and football clubs across the country unable to open daily as their energy bills rise, local pubs struggling to keep the lights on and established industries and start-ups alike struggling to cope with energy costs, yet there are those inside and outside of this House who argue for yet more dependence on this broken system. They call for us to slow down our action on climate change—to slow the sprint to clean energy or, worse, to hit reverse gear. They believe that more oil and gas will solve our problems, ignoring the fact that our reserves are heavily depleted and extracting what remains is far more expensive than it is in other North sea nations. They ignore the fact that even if we increased oil production today, it would take five to seven years before any new oil supplies became available, far too late to help families facing costs right now. Even then, UK-produced oil would still be sold into global oil markets, where international supply and demand set the price.

Similarly, increasing gas production would not offer short-term relief. Any additional UK-extracted gas would also take years to come online and would represent only a tiny fraction of the global gas market, leaving gas prices effectively unchanged. Of course, oil and gas will be used in the UK for many years and decades to come, but the idea that expanding oil and gas exploration would cut bills or materially improve our energy security is a fantasy. The impact would be marginal.

[David Chadwick (Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe) (LD)]

The hon. Gentleman is making an excellent speech, and I agree with many of his points. Tackling the climate emergency is vital, but that does not mean that green energy companies should be allowed to do whatever they want. Does he share my concerns about the conduct of Bute Energy, a green energy company that has spent—at the very least—thousands of pounds on courting his colleagues in Cardiff?

[Luke Murphy]

I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. I do not know the circumstances of that particular issue, but I agree that renewable energy companies, like all companies, should act in the public interest.

Those who actively oppose the transition to clean energy, such as Reform, prefer instead to expose every family, business and community in Britain to the boot of the fossil fuel dictator stamping on their neck forever. More broadly, tackling climate change matters because its impacts are no longer a distant threat—they are part of everyday life. Across the country, extreme weather means more patients on hot hospital wards, children struggling to learn in stifling classrooms, and families worrying about how to protect and insure their homes from flooding.

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD)]

I completely agree with the hon. Member that this is exactly the wrong moment to turn our backs on the promises that this House made to the children of this country. He may remember that it was the Fridays for Future movement that had children literally coming out on to the streets, out of school on Fridays, to make the case to their elected parliamentarians that they wanted us to commit to net zero. We would be reneging on our commitment to those children’s futures as well as affecting their presents.

[Luke Murphy]

I fully agree with the hon. Member. I will say more about the impact on future generations later, but as she says, the burden will weigh heaviest on them if we do not take action today.

In my constituency of Basingstoke, we have already seen the reality of our changing climate, with more than 500 heat-related deaths in the south-east in 2022 alone. In 2023, extreme weather caused a landslip that severed our town’s rail connectivity for days, and in 2024, the south-east NHS saw a 13% increase in emergency hospital admissions for a respiratory condition linked to rising temperatures. Climate change is already affecting our health, our infrastructure and our economy, placing immense pressure on the public services we rely on. That is before we even consider the other serious economic risks posed by climate change.

The Climate Change Committee estimates that unchecked climate change could impact UK economic output by up to 7% of GDP by 2050. Businesses and investors already recognise that climate risk is economic risk, and small businesses are already feeling the impact. Shops on Pontypridd high street in Wales are finding it impossible to get insurance; flooding in Yorkshire and Cumbria is disrupting national supply chains; and whisky distilleries in Scotland face water scarcity. Failure to manage these challenges today will only increase costs and disruption later.

Climate change is also a critical matter of national security. For decades, and notably in the Pentagon’s 2014 quadrennial defence review, security experts have identified climate change as a major threat multiplier—it drives instability, heightens resource pressures and accelerates displacement. The Ministry of Defence’s 2021 “Climate Change and Sustainability Strategic Approach” document warns that climate change increases the risk of conflict through competition for scarce resources and undermines military effectiveness.

Then there is the impact on nature and our wider environment. There are those who try to separate the issues of climate and nature—the Reform party, for example, claims to care about nature while planning to tear up legislation, policies and investments to tackle climate change—but this is a false choice. Climate change is inseparable from the health of our wider environment; the stability of our forests, rivers, soils and seas is inextricably linked to our climate. As temperatures rise, we see damage to biodiversity and agriculture. The Government’s own nature security assessment warns that on our current trajectory, every critical ecosystem across all regions is heading towards collapse. Nature also plays a crucial role in safeguarding us. Our forests and wetlands absorb carbon; chalk streams, like the beautiful ones we have in Hampshire, support drainage; and urban trees help cool our temperatures. Protecting the climate and restoring nature must go hand in hand, as the resilience of one depends on the health of the other.

[Alistair Strathern (Hitchin) (Lab)]

As always, my hon. Friend is making a powerful case about the breadth of issues that underline why it is so important that we act on climate change. It is often seen as a future issue, but my farmers are feeling the effects of volatile weather right now, just as some of my households felt the effects of rare flooding just last year. Does my hon. Friend agree that the land use framework published yesterday will be a really important document for ensuring we get adaptation and mitigation strategies right when it comes to protecting nature, as well as delivering the carbon reduction goals that are vital to ensuring we get our climate change action back on track?

[Luke Murphy]

I completely agree. If my hon. Friend will forgive the pun, the land use framework is a landmark document. It reflects the Government’s acknowledgement that the public understand many of the threats that we face and want to see climate action. Polling shows that 70% of the British public say that tackling climate change is important to them, with more than two thirds supporting ambitious action. For years, there was a broad cross-party political consensus on such measures. That consensus stretches back all the way to Margaret Thatcher, who said:

“The problem of global climate change is one that affects us all”.

That consensus delivered. We implemented the world’s first Climate Change Act in 2008 under Gordon Brown, and built on it under Theresa May. In 2015, we announced that we would phase out coal by 2025, which was brought forward to 2024. With the closure of Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, the target was met. Domestically, we have more than halved our emissions since 1990 while growing our economy by nearly 80%. Clean energy drives economic growth, with the clean economy growing three times as fast as the rest of the economy.

Our leadership has secured action around the world. The Climate Change Act 2008 inspired nations such as Denmark, Mexico, Sweden, France, New Zealand, Ireland and Germany to adopt similar measures, and has contributed to reductions in emissions around the world. Successive Governments have shaped the global agenda, but that leadership is now at risk. The current leader of the Conservative party, the right hon. Member for North West Essex (Mrs Badenoch), would scrap the vital Climate Change Act, as would Reform, sacrificing the health of our environment, economy and society at home, and Britain’s global climate leadership and action abroad. Such action is reckless.

We have the capacity to drive meaningful progress at home and abroad, and we must continue to exercise our leadership. I was really proud to hear the Prime Minister say at COP30 that the UK is doubling down on the fight against climate change, and I am pleased that that commitment has been met by decisive action over the past 20 months

[Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)]

Year 6 pupils from Reigate Park primary academy in Mackworth have written to me in some beautiful handwriting to say how concerned they are about climate change. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is absolutely essential that this Labour Government are committed to tackling the climate and nature crisis, and to accelerating to net zero? Does he agree that going further and faster on clean energy is the only way to secure energy security and cheaper bills?

[Luke Murphy]

Like my hon. Friend, I am so pleased when I get letters from children at schools in Basingstoke. I am able to tell them about the Government’s ambitious plans and their commitment to an issue that so many children are concerned about.

The Government have taken action. Great British Energy is rolling out solar in schools and hospitals, meaning that they are no longer paying for high energy bills, but are instead investing in education and in treatment for NHS patients. We have secured record-breaking offshore wind capacity, meaning more energy than ever and lower bills. Our warm homes plan is delivering £15 billion of investment to upgrade 5 million homes, meaning that every home is built for the future, with lower bills. We have invested £14.2 billion in Sizewell C, providing low-carbon electricity for 6 million homes and 10,000 good jobs. We have launched the clean energy jobs plan to support workers transitioning out of fossil fuels, ensuring that the move to a clean economy benefits us all. We have expanded apprenticeships and technical training, so that young people can build careers in Britain’s modern economy. And we have introduced the environmental improvement plan to restore nature and meet our legally binding targets, so that future generations can continue to enjoy our beautiful countryside and nature.

Current events demonstrate that, through their ambitious commitment to clean energy and tackling climate change, the Government are on the right track. If anything, we must go further and faster. In an unstable world, where energy prices are rocketing, the most effective step we can take is to get off the fossil fuel rollercoaster.

Sitting in this House is a privilege that comes with responsibility. Every one of our constituents is affected by climate change, as future generations will be. We often talk about the economic inheritance that we leave behind—public finances, growth and opportunity—and we should talk about those things, but what about everything else that our children and grandchildren will inherit? The choices we make today will determine the environment that we leave for generations to come. It is our duty to ensure that those who come after us are not left to shoulder a far greater burden than the one that we face today. I want to leave my nephews, and my friends’ and neighbours’ children, a world that is safe, healthy and sustainable. We must reject those who want to turn the clock back, or to use climate as a wedge issue. The stakes are too high to leave this to those who will come after us. The responsibility is ours, and the time for bold action is now.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

--- Later in debate ---

[Luke Murphy]

I, too, celebrate the achievements under the previous Government. Why, then, given that those achievements came about under the framework of the Climate Change Act, which was then recognised internationally and led to progress elsewhere, are you now going to throw that framework in the bin?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. It has been over 18 months and Members are still using “you” as if it were confetti. Please, can we all be a bit better?

[Luke Murphy]

Apologies, Madam Deputy Speaker. Why is the hon. Member and her party proposing to throw out the framework that underpinned all the achievements that she is listing?

[Harriet Cross]

I will not skip forward a few pages of my speech now, but we will touch on that matter in the coming few minutes.

As I said, the things that we have done are notable. Between 2010 and 2019, the UK Government oversaw the planting of 15 million trees, and during our time in office, the UK was home to the first, second, third, fourth and fifth largest wind farms in the world. We—the UK—have done a lot, and yet the climate is still changing. That is not because there has not been enough ambition or enough action from the UK, and it is not because of a need to just go faster. It is because, first—and I know there will be wails about this—the UK contributes less than 1% of global emissions; and secondly, other countries have not been following our lead.

--- Later in debate ---

[Luke Murphy]

I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting the debate, and all colleagues who contributed. There was broad agreement that it is important to make progress on tackling climate change, not least because it means progress on economic growth, on living standards, on delivering national security, and on leaving a better inheritance for future generations—and who would not want that?

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the UK’s progress towards achieving the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.