As a Government Minister, I regularly raise the thoughts of constituents with the Government Whips and in engagements with my Ministerial colleagues. I am proud of how much the people of Mid Sussex care about protecting our environment, defeating climate change, leading the world in the ‘Green Revolution’ and setting out future measures for sustainable living and nature's recovery.
The Government recognises the importance of climate action and I welcome that the UK was the first G7 country to legislate to achieve net zero by 2050 and is decarbonising faster than any G20 country.
Ministers are bolstering domestic renewable energy production through the Energy Security Strategy. This sets out plans to accelerate the deployment of wind, new nuclear, solar and hydrogen, while supporting the production of domestic oil and gas in the nearer term – which could see 95 per cent of electricity being low carbon by 2030. New ambitions include producing up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030 – more than enough to power every home in the UK.
The Government remains firmly committed to its net zero target. However, oil and gas will be required in the transition to net zero, and simply turning off the taps would mean we would have to import oil and gas, leaving us susceptible to global circumstances. The Government is therefore boosting our energy security by committing to hundreds of new oil and gas field licences in the North Sea, making sure we are not reliant on expensive, foreign imports.
I would like to assure you that I fully recognise the valuable work of our farmers across the country. The Government has committed to maintaining the £2.4 billion annual farming budget in England over this parliament. The Sustainable Farming Incentive pays farmers for actions that support food production and can help improve farm productivity and resilience, while protecting and improving the environment. The 23 actions on offer cover areas including soil health and moorland, as well as new actions on hedgerows, integrated pest management, nutrient management, farmland wildlife, buffer strips, and low input grassland.
Finally, regarding forests, the Government introduced world-leading legislation through the Environment Act to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. The Act’s provisions will make it illegal for larger businesses operating in the UK to use key forest risk commodities produced on land illegally occupied or used. Businesses in scope will also be required to undertake a due diligence exercise on their supply chains, to assess and mitigate the risk of regulated commodities having been produced on land illegally owned and used, and to report on this exercise annually. I understand that Ministers are committed to implementing due diligence provisions at the earliest opportunity through secondary legislation.
The Environment Act will place environmental ambition and accountability at the heart of Government. I am pleased new legislative measures will be introduced by this Conservative Government to address the biggest environmental priorities of our age, ensuring we can deliver on the commitment to leave the natural world in a better condition than we found it. It will ensure this, and future governments, are held to account if they fail to uphold their environmental duties. These will include meeting net-zero by 2050, as well as wider long-term legally binding targets on biodiversity, air quality, water, and resource and waste efficiency which will be established under the Bill. You can read more about the Act here: https://www.mimsdavies.org.uk/news/environment-bill-update-0