C40 was set up in 2005 by the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone; at that point it was C20, with only 20 cities. Now there are 96 cities, with a quarter of the global economy and a twelfth of the world’s population. They are driving the fight against climate change and deserve a seat at the negotiations. I ask the Government to rethink their decision not to invite them. Continue reading “COP Climate Negotiations: Cities”
My Amendment 9 on the exemptions in the Bill is supported by WildFish, an organisation with extensive expertise in marine conservation, whose work highlights the importance of making sure that decisions to rely on exemptions are transparent. I would like to have moved this amendment, but we are obviously in a hurry to complete the Bill, so I have held off, but it is incredibly important that we do not allow exemptions without understanding why they have happened. Continue reading “Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill Report Stage”
I intervened in this debate to say: Does the Minister understand the depth of disappointment that a lot of environmental campaigners have felt because the remit did not include taking water out of private hands? There is a general feeling of absolute anger that public ownership was not considered. Does the Minister accept that? I include Feargal Sharkey and myself among those environmental campaigners who are horribly disappointed. Continue reading “Independent Water Commission”
I am furious that we are in this position, that we actually have to do this, and that it is not obvious to any Government that in a democracy we need the right to protest to be protected. To engage in peaceful protest means irritating other people. Over recent years, we have seen a real erosion of protest rights through one Bill after another. I sat here and watched it all and protested at every single move. Each was justified on a narrow, technical or operational point but, taken together, they amounted to a clear political direction—making protests harder, riskier and much easier to shut down. Continue reading “Crime and Policing Bill Committee Stage Day 8”
I intervened in this debate last week to say: Some floodwater is highly toxic and dangerous to humans, particularly if it comes from a sewage treatment works or from farms. What extra interventions are done on such floodwaters? Continue reading “Flooding Interventions”
It seems that we are here trying to correct an injustice: that vulnerable women and children are put into a prison where they are clearly not safe is horrendous. It really does not fit with a decent society Continue reading “Sentencing Bill Report Stage”
There is no such thing as sustainable aviation fuel. Too often, we have these grand promises that are never backed up— I would argue that carbon capture and storage is another one. But if the Government are to press ahead with so-called sustainable aviation fuel, the very least we should expect is full transparency about what is being produced, where it is coming from and what the real impacts are Continue reading “Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill Committee Stage Day 2”
I asked HMG what assessment they have made of the environmental credentials of Drax in view of the new investigation by Stand.earth which reported that Drax had purchased logged trees from old growth forests in British Columbia in 2024 Continue reading “My debate on Drax”
I tabled a Topical Oral Question in response to reports last week of built in bias in the FR software resulting in women and individuals from ethnic minorities being much more likely to be misrecognised by it: because the software is much better at recognising white men they are less likely to be misidentified and negatively affected by it. The Financial Times reported on it here Continue reading “My debate on Facial Recognition Technology: Safeguards”
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb 