Speeches by Creagh.

“We have been around the houses on this. The document that has been released talks about coral collapse by 2030 and mangrove collapse by 2050. I would say that there is enough to worry about in the document that has been released without worrying about what versions 1, 2 and 3 said.”

“It was a cross-Government document developed by analysts from across the Government. You can see from its title who might have been involved, but it is not produced by a single Department. It was about bringing together that scientific evidence, policy analysis and national security expertise to look at resilience and …”

“It is a convention that we don’t comment on internal machinery of national security assessments or the specific methodologies to formulate them. It is a cross-Government document.”

“Let’s just go back to the futures report, because that was a very early piece of work, and it dated from 2022. When I read it, I was a bit like, “Mm”—I was not impressed, frankly. As a non-scientist, I did not think it stood up. It was an internal horizon-scanning document; it was not formal, it was not adopted as Gove…”

“At the moment in DEFRA we are looking at land use, food security and climate adaptation and working on the full waste spectrum. I am happy and content that colleagues are chairing the taskforce, but I will expect regular updates, impacts and feedback on it. I think it is about us being in the heart of this, and I am co…”

“I was a bit confused about this, so I have gone back to basics on it. I think you asked me this question in DEFRA orals a couple of weeks back and there was this kind of, “Which document is which?” There is a thing called the futures report, and that is a completely separate document. Let’s just go back to what is in t…”

“No. We published our environmental improvement plan in December. We published a land use framework plan in March. As I say, today we are announcing our largest ever three-year species recovery fund. I would strongly counter the idea that we have been sitting waiting for this document to come out before we started shift…”

“Well, she said what she said. I would say that, given the new realities of the funding, we have been laser-focused on making sure that nature and the oceans are at the front and centre of this and that every pound delivers for not just aid but climate mitigation and adaptation as well, and levers in money from elsewher…”

“I genuinely do not know. What I can say in terms of our international partners is that we have strong relationships with embassies and Governments right across the world. We have a global demand for our expertise to help with how they value and account for nature. We have had a particularly successful partnership with …”

“Okay, so that is a separate thing. We cannot comment on internal machinery on national security assessments, the methodologies used to formulate them or the different versions.”

“We set out our international climate finance strategy, ICF4, on 22 June. That set out that nature is a priority for the UK’s international climate finance—protecting and restoring nature, including forests, oceans and coastal, terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. That is a key part of the work that I do with Minister…”

“The G20 next year is an important opportunity for us to shape the global multilateral agenda. It is our first G20 since 2009, and it is going to be followed by our G7 presidency the year after, in 2028. The Prime Minister has outlined a five-point plan for growth at the G20 summit in South Africa, and it has included s…”

“I am not aware of any research, but there is work going on through our circular economy strategy, which we have co-designed with industry. As part of that, we have looked at transport and waste electricals, and I am certain that there are transport experts in those working groups. We have to get to a circular economy, …”

“I don’t know. I cannot comment on what there is between international intelligence and security agencies on these issues. They would not tell me if they did this, and I could not tell you if they had told me.”

“First of all, thanks, Chair, for agreeing to the slightly later start time. We have been having a bit of a pre-EAC workout in Committee Room 10 next door, which I can tell you is considerably hotter than this Committee Room. I am grateful to the Committee for the slightly later start. This document is a cross-Governmen…”

“I see it as a cross-Government assessment. It is a cross-Government publication. Obviously, it has some heavy scientific analysis in it, but the power of it is that it does not belong to a single Department.”

“I will undertake to do that. If I cannot do it myself, I will pass it on to my DESNZ colleagues.”

“It was not commissioned by me, so it—”

“I will make a little progress, if I may. The changes will apply directly in Northern Ireland and will phase in over time. They apply in Northern Ireland under the Windsor framework. As an EU regulation, the obligations within it apply directly, without the need for transposition. The draft instrument, in a reserved pol…”

“What a peach of a debate! On the one hand, the Conservative party gave us gentle encouragement and asked questions about how the policy has been enforced in the interim. Once again, I was questioned about the previous Government’s inaction and inability to take any steps to bring in this law before they left office. On…”