Caroline blogs on some key questions she's asking the Government about climate change:

As negotiations continue at the UN climate talks, I’m in Paris for a summit of global legislators, hearing from experts and sharing experiences with fellow parliamentarians from across the world.  I’ll be blogging about this soon. 

In the meantime, below are some parliamentary questions I tabled earlier this week, to put pressure on UK Ministers to address some of the key issues on the table here at the Paris climate talks.

I’m hoping the answers will be much better than a worryingly dismissive response to a serious question I asked recently on pensions and climate risks.

Here are my climate questions – with a short explanation of why we need serious answers, and, above all, ambitious action, from UK Ministers.

1. Climate Change: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of (a) 1.5, (b) 2, (c) 4 and (d) 6 degrees of global warming on (i) countries belonging to the Climate Vulnerable Forum and the Alliance of Small Island States and (ii) the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals; and if she will make a statement.
2. Climate Change: International Cooperation:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information she holds on the number of countries calling for a commitment to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees; what the Government's policy is on limiting the long-term global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees; and if she will make a statement.

These first two questions are about the so-called “safe” level of global warming - a hot topic at the UN Climate Conference at Paris (COP21). Many countries in the Global South are already stuggling to cope with the impacts of extreme weather from drought and heatwaves to flooding and sea level rise we’re seeing with a 1 degree average global temperature rise since pre-industrial times.

 The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) today acknowledged the declaration of support from Germany and France for strengthening of the 2 degrees long-term UNFCCC goal to the safer below 1.5°C goal. Recognizing this change of position, now 108 countries have clearly voiced support for the 1.5°C target, including the first major developed economies. Climate change threatens decades of development progress in poorer countries, whether that’s health, clean water or food security.  The UK should recognise this and back the 1.5°C goal - through action not just words. You can read more about this here. 

3. Carbon Emissions: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scenarios for keeping global temperatures below two degrees require (a) negative emissions technologies and (b) peaking of global emissions before (i) 2015 and (ii) 2020; and if she will make a statement.

This question picks up on concerns set out by one of the UK’s leading climate scientists, Kevin Anderson, about assumptions behind IPCC scenarios meaning that we could be taking an even greater risk with the stability of our climate than Ministers are keen to admit.

4.  Climate Change: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what projection she has made of a global temperature increases by (a) 2050 and (b) 2100 caused by greenhouse gas emissions trajectories (i) under current trends and (ii) if all Intended Nationally Determined Contributions are delivered; what the implications of such temperature rises are in the UK for (A) coastal towns and cities, (B) extreme weather events and (C) food security; and if she will make a statement.

 The UK Government has said repeatedly that the UK’s global commitment to cutting carbon emissions - as part of the EU’s INDC (Intended Nationally Determined Contribution) - is leading the way. Ministers claim that its other countries who need to raise their ambition. This PQ is pushing Ministers to admit this is not the case and we need to do much more ourselves to make a fair and scientifically robust contribution to efforts to tackle climate change.

5.  Gas Fired Power Stations: Construction : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make an assessment of the effect of replacing the UK's existing coal fired power stations through a combination of energy conservation, demand side measures and renewable power instead of new gas fired power stations on (a) job creation, (b) carbon emissions, (c) household energy bills, (d) long-term energy security and (e) the UK's global influence on securing international action on climate change; and if she will make a statement.

 The UK should be phasing out coal fired power stations - but replacing coal with gas is not good enough - either to meet climate targets or to maximise the economic opportunities of a thriving UK clean energy sector. At the very least, the Government must be honest about the implications of this fatally flawed decision, which suggests they’re following the whim of big oil and gas companies, irrespective of public support for renewables and the need for much deeper carbon cuts.

6.  Renewable Energy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the size of the (a) solar, (b) wind, (c) offshore wind and (d) renewable heat sector is; and by what proportion she plans for these sectors to grow in the next (i) five, (ii) 10 and (iii) 20 years; and if she will make a statement.

 Last month, Amber Rudd, the Energy Secretary, told MPs: “The Government are committed to growing the renewable industry, are proud of the amount by which it has grown and will continue to support it, including through job creation.” We’ll see if she has the figures to back that up - because the recent stream of policy announcements suggest the UK Government is intent on sabotaging not supporting the renewable energy industry here in the UK.

7. Energy: Investment: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Government's policy is on the appropriate percentage rate of return on investment for (a) schools and community groups investing in on-site solar power and (b) foreign state owned companies investing in new nuclear power in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

One of the Government’s justifications for slashing subsidies for solar power is that the return on investment is too high - even though, when community groups, schools or energy coops are investing, those profits go straight back into the community or into more local energy saving and effieicny projects. They say that investors in solar power shouldn’t get more than a 4 percent return.  However, they’re promising Chinese and French state owned energy companies a 10 percent return on investment in new nuclear power stations. To me, that’s completely unjustifiable.

8. Fossil Fuels: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the proportion of existing fossil fuel reserves that are (a) unburnable under a scenario of keeping temperature increases to below two degrees C and (b) unburnable; and what her policy is on the proportion of primary energy supply (i) in the UK, (ii) globally that should come from oil and gas in (A) 2030 and (B) 2050; and if she will make a statement.

Back in September, the Governor of the Bank of England issued a blunt warning to investors in the fossil fuel industry that vast reserves of oil, coal and gas are “literally unburnable”.  That’s what drives the hugely successful divestment movement - we need to keep fossil fuels underground, so finance needs to be redirected into clean energy instead.

The Government needs to catch up. As well as warm words about long term carbon targets and the Climate Change Act, we need concrete action to keep fossil fuels in the ground.  At the moment, the Government is actively pursuing a strategy of maximising oil and gas extraction, claiming that, in 2030, 70 percent of the UK’s total primary energy is still expected to come from oil and gas.  That is completely incompatible with a credible response to the climate crisis. 

9.  Seas and Oceans: Acidification: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on the level of atmospheric carbon concentration required to prevent harmful ocean acidification; what assessment she has made of the effect of ocean acidification under atmospheric carbon concentration scenarios used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on (a) marine species and (b) coastal populations; and if she will make a statement.

Carbon emissions aren’t just heating up the atmosphere.  They’re being absorbed by the oceans, making them more acidic. Scientists recently warned that the 2C maximum temperature rise for climate change agreed by Governments will not prevent dramatic impacts on ocean systems.