An extract from a speech the Rt Revd Stephen Croft, the Bishop of Oxford, gave in the House of Lords on October 22.
We face many challenging issues but none is more serious than climate change and the environmental crisis.
It is a privilege to be a member of the Lordships Select Committee on the Environment and Climate Change. Last week we published our first major report: In our hands: behaviour change for climate and environmental goals.
This government has given imaginative and committed leadership in the area of climate and the environment including at COP 26 through the COP President and in the recent Environment Bill. The government has acknowledged the need for behaviour change across the board: we all must play our part.
It is good to see government commitments to behaviour change summarised in the library briefing for this debate.
But the Committee found a very significant gap between what the government wants to do and the leadership which is being offered.
There is a very significant gap in understanding the challenge from department to department. There is too little joined up thinking and policy. There are quick wins which are not being adopted. There are massive areas for development and leadership – particularly domestic heating which is the subject of our next enquiry.
There is a lack of expertise and knowledge across government. There has been no real attempt at public information and engagement campaigns. The leadership debate over the summer has raised real questions around the new government’s commitment to net.
