The Economy — House of Commons, 2015-11-18
Topic: Environment
Christopher James Evans (Labour, Centre-left): It is interesting to hear speeches in this House. Since I was elected five years ago, I have been hearing the same thing from Conservative Members. The word "conservative" means to preserve a way of life. The Conservatives live in the past, they look back to the past and they are trying to preserve it, but the old certainties have changed. Globalisation is here to stay. Whether we like it or not, the way people go about their daily lives has changed for ever. Nobody will have a job for life any more. People will work in the same job all day and then come home to trade on Gumtree, eBay or Amazon. They will not see themselves as entrepreneurs but they will live an entrepreneurial life. It is up to Government to ensure that people can achieve their opportunities and ambitions The No.1 problem that anybody has in this country, whether or not they go to work, and whether or not they are in high-intensive industries, is climate change. Today’s motion is actually talking about green industry. Green technology is the last best chance for this country. Highly labour-intensive jobs go where cheap labour is, and that is not here. That is why we must invest in green technology As is often the case, it is America that is providing the most innovative solutions. In 2006, the Californian Global Warming Solutions Act set some of the most ambitious targets for carbon reduction anywhere in the world. Emissions were to be reduced by 30% by 2020 and by 80% by 2050. It was not just the targets that mattered, because the Californian Government attacked greenhouse gases from every angle—from industry, cars, households, cities, motorways and even farms. The law impacted on them all and provided the base on which to reduce emissions. We often talk about how Government action can only go so far, and that is true, but the Global Warming Solutions Act not only changed the approach of Government, but shifted the market California is one of the most polluting and car-crazed cultures in the world. Its most popular car for two years running was the Toyota Prius, which lost its crown last year to another hybrid, the Honda Accord. The California example is one the UK must begin to follow. It is a fallacy to say that there is a trade-off between tackling climate change and economic growth. The Act aimed—and it is succeeding—to create a whole new clean-tech industry. It created jobs, developed cutting-edge technology, supported established companies and helped entrepreneurs Nearly 10 years on from the passing of that Act, California has become the developed world’s second least carbon-intensive economy. For every dollar of goods and services, it emits less carbon than any nation except France. California is a living example of what research tells us to be true—that we can tackle climate change and dramatically boost our economy In 2011, Google.org compared a "business as usual approach" to the American economy pursuing a clean-tech approach. The report found that such a shift would do the following: grow the economy by $244 billion a year; create 1.9 million jobs; save consumers nearly $1,000 a year; and reduce total US greenhouse gas emissions by 21% before 2030 and by 63% by 2050. We have the ultimate opportunity to develop a carbon-neutral economy that creates jobs In my final 30 seconds I wish to focus on graphene. It was developed by British scientists, but it is the Chinese and Americans who are forging ahead with it. Of the patents on it, 24% come from either China or America. Only 1% comes from Britain. We must encourage our firms to ensure that when we make breakthroughs such as that, they have every opportunity to develop them for commercial purposes. That is the point that I really want to make to the Government.