Speeches by White.

“There are different elements. One is digital accessibility with some people more able to use the interface. As you say, we should be making sure that we have the technology in homes, but also that they have the right infrastructure and equipment. There are multiple levels to how we do that. We are looking at how to do …”

“As it stands, we obviously focus on our three campaigns: electric vehicles—I am sure you have seen that, but thankfully they did not ask me to do it; I do not know whether you have seen the hair option, but it is quite extravagant, shall we say—heat pumps and energy efficiency. They are targeted on areas where we reall…”

“A lot of these are micro-targeted. We are looking at different demographics. When looking at energy efficiency saving up £150 off your bills, we are going for more vulnerable groups, older people, people with young families and people with disabilities. We are looking at where we need to target those most effectively. …”

“People either believe that Britain is important and has an impact in the world or they do not. I am in the former camp; I think that Britain has an impact in the world. The impact of our behaviour is far greater than the amount of our emissions. We sit on the UN Security Council. When we introduced the Climate Change A…”

“You make a really good point. One of the mistakes that has been made in the past is that there has been an assumption that almost people would start at low-level green action and then would work their way up. Most people are completely overwhelmed, have very limited time and want to know very quickly, “What is the one …”

“I think there are some people who are peddling climate “misinformation” or are trying to make this an argument. The people who are peddling this are back-pedalling British interests, I would say, and I am curious as to why they are doing that. But the vast majority of people—certainly the business leaders I talk to—are…”

“No. On the list of the things that I want to do, it is nowhere near my list of priorities, because it would take a lot of time and money, and I would rather spend that on talking to people around a table in a normal way and trying to communicate in different ways. There are so many great things that the Department is d…”

“Totally.”

“My first answer is to listen. Often it is about listening to what people’s genuine concerns are. Sometimes there are genuine concerns, and we should listen to those genuine concerns and make sure that we are meeting them. Otherwise, sometimes it is about reassurance. As you say, who is the right messenger? It will depe…”

“Exactly.”

“Absolutely. I have thoroughly enjoyed being at this session because it is making me check all my ideas. Under this Government—I pay tribute to what the previous Government did; we should always take pride in what has happened—we have had far more active engagement from the unions. Whether that is about workforce planni…”

“For sure. I am the Minister for Climate Action, since September. I am responsible for net zero strategy, the carbon budget, green finance and international climate change.”

“Thank you, Chair, for that question. If we look at the statistics, the polling numbers are, surprisingly—I say that as a Member of Parliament, because sometimes perception is different—incredibly high, in terms of the British public supporting taking action on climate change. We do regular assessments, but 79% of the p…”

“If what you are saying, Chair, is that people want to tackle climate change and at the same time reduce their cost of living, I completely agree with you. People want both those things. We as a Government have to meet both of those needs: we need to make sure that we are leading the transition to a low-carbon Britain, …”

“I think there is absolutely more to do to make that clear.”

“First, in terms of the risks and what is happening in our country at the moment, I think you just spoke to Neil Morisetti about what the risks are and what is happening in our country at the moment. Colleagues have been flooded—what is the impact of that? We need to make sure that people are aware of why we are taking …”

“I think it should be multiple message carriers. I am working with multiple message carriers. We work with the Net Zero Council, which was relaunched under the Secretary of State, and a great selection of individuals, from trade union leaders to corporate leaders to leaders of NGOs, within that. Each of them has a role …”

“Absolutely.”

“You referred to some of the interventions we have already made. We have doubled the warm homes discount, so it is now available to 6 million people over the course of this winter. We will be taking, as you rightly mention, £150 off energy costs thanks to the announcements in the Budget. Obviously, we had the warm homes…”

“I think it should be multiple message carriers. I am working with multiple message carriers. We work with the Net Zero Council, which was relaunched under the Secretary of State, and a great selection of individuals, from trade union leaders to corporate leaders to leaders of NGOs, within that. Each of them has a role …”