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 written statement of 3 February 2020, HCWS86 on UK-EU relations, and the EU draft negotiating directives published on 3 February 2020, whether she plans to make tackling climate change a priority for a future trade agreement between the EU and the UK.

We want a relationship with the EU which is based on friendly cooperation between sovereign equals, and centred on free trade. We will have a relationship with our European friends inspired by our shared history and values.

The UK is committed to delivering our world-leading commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions and end the UK’s contribution to global warming by 2050. As my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister set out in his speech in Greenwich on the 3 February: “Britain was the first major economy in the world – let alone the EU – to place upon our own shoulders a legal obligation to be carbon neutral by 2050.”

As we prepare to host the crucial 2020 UN climate negotiations, COP26, in Glasgow in November, we will push for ambitious action from all countries to deliver the 2015 Paris Agreement, and showcase the UK’s climate leadership.