Environment

Climate Change is the biggest challenge of our generation. I’ve been advocating for a bill to tackle the problem since I arrived in Parliament, signing Early Day Motions, campaigning with Friends of the Earth and sponsoring an early version of the bill. I was therefore very pleased when Parliament passed the Climate Change Act in 2008. The essential measures it introduces include the world’s very first legally binding targets: to see reductions in CO2 emissions of 26% by 2020 and of green house gas emissions through action in the UK and abroad of at least 80% by 2050.   

At the United Nations Climate Change Conference being held in December this year in Copenhagen, we can cement the UK’s position as a world leader on this issue by securing agreement on the standards we have set out and the need to see emissions in the developing world reduced, while still helping to lift the people of those nations out of poverty. You can read more on the issue of Climate Change by clicking here. 

I am also looking forward to lending my support to the Marine Bill currently going through Parliament, for which I have been campaigning since I was first elected. That legislation will allow for the creation of new Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) and Highly Protected Marine Reserves to protect biodiversity in our waters.   

In campaigning for the Marine Bill I visited primary schools across my constituency to discuss how we protect the marine environment. The children all sent their letters, poems and pictures to David Miliband, the Environment Secretary at the time. I also joined Labour councillors and local residents in a successful petition to ensure Islington is at the top of the list for the introduction of ‘green’ hybrid buses that use 40% less fuel and emit 90% fewer polluting exhaust particles. They also cut noise levels by a third and reduce CO2 emissions by 38%.   

Britain urgently needs to find alternative sources of power. I want to see the Government put more investment into renewables like biomass and offshore wind. I was delighted when, in October 2008, the UK overtook Denmark to become world’s biggest offshore wind generator. I will continue campaigning to make sure the UK plays its part in achieving the EU target of using 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.  

I am deeply concerned about the impact of aviation on the environment. As I told the House of Commons earlier this year, I am profoundly against the building of a third runway at Heathrow. This doesn’t mean we should build more runways elsewhere – least of all in the Thames estuary, where London’s Tory mayor has proposed building an airport four times as big as Gatwick. Londoners don’t need our air quality worsened any further, and the planet doesn’t need any acceleration in global warming. You can read my full speech to Parliament on Heathrow expansion by clicking here.