Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans she has to ensure that all cross-departmental climate change commitments are upheld in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Climate change is one of the most urgent and pressing challenges we face today and this Government is committed to tackling it

Our ambitious domestic emissions reduction targets, enshrined in UK law, will not be affected by Brexit. These commitments, including our net zero 2050 target, go beyond our emissions reduction commitments in EU law.

The Environment Bill – laid on the 15^th October - will establish a new, world-leading independent regulator that will enforce our climate commitments, working closely alongside our independent advisers, the Committee on Climate Change.

Brexit will not affect our international climate commitments. The UK is a party to the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement in our own right and we are bound by all the obligations of these agreements under international law. This includes the requirement to prepare, communicate and maintain successive Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. We have committed to publishing an enhanced UK NDC by February next year.

In addition to these commitments, we have recently announced that we are setting up a new climate change cabinet committee, chaired by the Prime Minister. This committee will galvanise efforts to tackle environmental challenges and become the cleanest, greenest society on earth, inspiring countries around the world to follow our lead.