Climate Change

I am pleased to be elected on a manifesto that boasts progressive and green policies to ensure the UK reaches above and beyond the targets set by international community. I have personally attended COP30 in Belem and met with ministers, officials and NGOs to discuss how we can tackle the climate crisis head on.  

I was disappointed the Government decided not to invest in the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF). I recently raised my concerns with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and I was not satisfied by the response I received. I wrote again, and I was still not satisfied with the answer. I will continue to urge the Government to engage with this innovative investment mechanism as I believe that investing in the TFFF fund, which the UK had an important role in designing, would not only protect vital tropical forests, but would also deliver for taxpayers here in the UK.   

Nonetheless, I welcome the UK’s leading role in driving international efforts to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation by 2030. This includes working with international partners to improve forest governance, sustainable trade, and the investment and mobilisation of finance to best protect and restore tropical forest basins. I am pleased this Labour Government is signing into law the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill, and I raised this matter in the House, which you can access here. 

As Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, along with my colleagues on the International Development Committee and the Environmental Audit Committee, we are monitoring the climate situation closely and will continue to press the Government to maintain its support for global projects.