Speeches by Gardiner.

“So don’t plant pine trees on either side of your firebreak?”

“My hon. Friend is talking about peatlands; she will know that Indonesia had a huge, deep burn of its peatlands in 2019, with 31,000 sq km of land burned. In the UK, when we had a terrible peatland fire on Saddleworth moor in 2018, just the year before, an estimated 4.5 million people suffered from the particulate matte…”

“I asked you specifically about the impact of controlled burns. You were suggesting that wildfires have an adverse impact on biodiversity. I am asking you why controlled burns do not have the same impact on biodiversity.”

“Public space protection orders at that point?”

“Great. That depends, presumably, on making sure that people are aware. I know that electronic road signage has been used that can say you are now entering an area of heightened risk, and these controls are in place. Is that something that this Committee should be talking about recommending?”

“Thank you very much. That is really helpful.”

“My hon. Friend has been very generous in taking interventions. On the animals that had diseases—she is right, it was an affecting sight that depressed us all; it is great that the islands are being built—is she aware that at a recent lecture, Nadine, who we met in Oxford, confirmed that when orangutans are captured for…”

“My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Does she agree that, as part of that consultation, many of us would like the Government to consider that this should not just be a matter of legality, but of actual deforestation? She will know of cases where other countries have passed similar legislation; in Brazil, its then P…”

“Mr Garrigan, if we were to frame that in terms of a recommendation from this Committee, what would it look like?”

“I have two brief points. Professor Howard Boyd, you spoke about the daily hazard assessment. The fire severity index puts that into the Natural Hazards Partnership, but it is not made publicly available. Would it be helpful if it were one of the recommendations of this Committee that that information should be made pub…”

“I just wanted to pick up on some of the things you were saying there and do that transition. What about the evidence in the database? The New Forest has done some data collection, and they said that the banning of barbecues, which they have already implemented in the New Forest, was a success, and that the evidence sug…”

“If the hon. Member wants to know the specifics of how to do that, they get a jar of liquid honey and squeeze it up the tree. You then have to follow it up with your tongue. I do not recommend that for anywhere near the Whips Office.”

“My hon. Friend is talking about peatlands; she will know that Indonesia had a huge, deep burn of its peatlands in 2019, with 31,000 sq km of land burned. In the UK, when we had a terrible peatland fire on Saddleworth moor in 2018, just the year before, an estimated 4.5 million people suffered from the particulate matte…”

“This is an essential point. My hon. Friend will remember the words of Pak Ja Martin, who was in charge of the project that we went to see. He said, “You can’t talk conservation to people who are hungry.” Therefore, local indigenous people, who for centuries have protected and conserved their environment, must be involv…”

“Two things follow from that: one is that it was a good way of getting the excess fuel load off the land, so presumably grazing or cutting then clearing would be equally effective. I am quite sure you will respond. Also, the purpose of doing it as a controlled burn is actually for grouse management, is it not, and the g…”

“My hon. Friend speaks knowledgeably about the threats to biodiversity in Sumatra in particular. It is not just the sixth largest island in the world; it also has 1,300 different tree species. Sumatra’s forest cover has been staggeringly depleted, with about 20% of its lowland forest remaining. My hon. Friend is right t…”

“Moving on now, I want to look at that interface between the rural and the urban, the boundary and the challenges there. You have alluded to a number of those already, Professor Howard Boyd. What I want to ask you, though, is when you have extreme heat and you have the risk of wildfires, how does that risk interact with…”

“Will the Secretary of State confirm that, in the event of a special administration regime, any compensation would be based on appropriate value as set out in the case of Lithgow v. the UK, not on regulated capital value, as suggested by the shadow Secretary of State. For Thames Water, appropriate value would take accou…”

“Looking at the Paris principles, there is equity and common but differentiated responsibilities. Your impact assessment says, “Under the Paris Agreement, all countries are required to communicate Nationally Determined Contributions…representing their highest possible ambition to the UNFCCC”. Ours is not—you have chosen…”

“Exactly what I thought—you did not answer it.”