In January 2020 Philip was elected Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC).
The EAC shares with the Public Accounts Committee the remit to look across government, rather than shadowing an individual department. This allows the EAC to scrutinise all government departments, and public and private sector impact on our environment, as well as measures to mitigate climate change. This could well be one of the defining policy areas of this Parliament, as we put in place the policies to enable the UK to reach net zero emissions as soon as possible, and certainly by 2050.
In the past two years, Philip initiated the Committee’s enquiry into one of the largest - yet largely hidden – sectors where modern slavery is prevalent today in Britain, and have pushed for more transparency to encourage Green Finance and greening of UK export finance, in improving biodiversity, air, water and soil quality.
It is clear from maiden speeches that many new MPs are committed environmentalists. They will help keep up the pressure on government to deliver policies for the UK to be a leader internationally in addressing climate change. Not least this November when we host the next UN Climate Change conference (COP26) in Glasgow.
Visit the Environmental Audit Committee webpages here: http://parliament.uk/eacom.
After two and a half years campaigning on this issue, and a landmark committee inquiry, it is welcome news today to receive details of this sewage reduction plan which aims to leave the country's rivers and beaches cleaner and safer.
Philip Dunne calls on the President of COP26 to comment on whether the structure of Government is best equipped to deliver the Nationally Determined Contributions commitment of 68% emissions reduction by 2030.
Following the response to the Urgent Question on the Government’s preparedness for extreme heat in the UK, Philip Dunne urges the Government to revisit the Environmental Audit Committee’s report on heatwaves and reconsider the recommendations that were not acted upon at the time.
Philip Dunne, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, leads a debate on the Government’s spending plans for action on climate change and decarbonisation and, as rising fuel costs leads to soaring public interest in energy efficiency measures, he calls for bolder incentive schemes to make the most of this opportunity to deliver the UK’s climate goals.
Philip Dunne opens a Backbench Business debate on the Government’s strategic priorities for Ofwat which offers the Government a real opportunity to use Ofwat to refocus water companies’ priorities towards the environment and improving water quality in our rivers and waterways.
Philip Dunne writes for BusinessGreen.
Regular BusinessGreen readers will be familiar with the shocking statistics around water quality: only 14 per cent of rivers in England can claim good ecological status; not a single river in England has received a clean bill of health for chemical contamination.