[{"topic":"Pollution","id":"44046","proposer":"10199","edm":"2939","session":"2010-12","title":"Marine Pollution (S.i., 2012, No. 742)","text":"That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship Transfers) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (S.I., 2012, No. 742), dated 5 March 2012, a copy of which was laid before this House on 9 March 2012, be annulled.","date":"2012-03-27","status":"o"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"42169","proposer":"10614","edm":"1157","session":"2010-12","title":"Ge Lighting Site, Leicester","text":"That this House notes with concern that, four years after the GE Lighting factory on Melton Road in Leicester closed, the problem of contaminated land has not been resolved; further notes that without de-contamination the land cannot be used for another purpose; recognises that this land may be required for housing in the city; further notes that Leicestershire is currently facing a housing shortage; and calls on the Government to encourage the long overdue de-contamination of the site and to recognise that the land should be allocated for housing.","date":"2010-12-08","status":"o"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"41305","proposer":"10900","edm":"365","session":"2010-12","title":"Improvement In Air Quality In Port Talbot","text":"That this House welcomes the recent dramatic fall in air pollution in Port Talbot; congratulates Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, local companies, notably Corus and the Environment Agency and all community environmental groups in working in partnership to achieve this progress; recognises the importance of the Local Clean Air Charter in helping to facilitate this improvement; and urges all parties to re-double their efforts to develop innovative strategies to alleviate respiratory problems.","date":"2010-06-30","status":"o"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"41242","proposer":"11038","edm":"308","session":"2010-12","title":"Marine Pollution (S.i., 2010, No. 1228) (No. 2)","text":"That this House welcomes the Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship Transfers) Regulations 2010 which were laid before it on 9 April 2010, in the previous Parliament; considers the new requirement for harbour authorities regulating cargo transfers to be licensed by the Secretary of State to be appropriate and proportionate without interfering in day-to-day harbour operations; and welcomes the safeguards given in schedules 1 and 2 to European wildlife sites and to the wider environment.","date":"2010-06-23","status":"o"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"41113","proposer":"24948","edm":"190","session":"2010-12","title":"Marine Pollution (S.i., 2010, No. 1228)","text":"That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship Transfers) Regulations 2010 (S.I., 2010, No. 1228), dated 8 April 2010, a copy of which was laid before this House on 9 April 2010, in the previous Parliament, be annulled.","date":"2010-06-09","status":"o"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"40848","proposer":"12004","edm":"1195","session":"2009-10","title":"Wateraid And Sanitation Targets","text":"That this House notes that 2.5 billion people across the world live without access to sanitation and around 4,000 children die from diarrhoea every single day, more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined; further notes that in developing countries, half the hospital beds are filled with people suffering from diarrhoeal diseases like cholera; further notes that the charity WaterAid petitioned the Government and an amendment was made to the agreement made at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000 that the number of people living without access to sanitation would be halved by 2015; further notes that with just five years left time is running out in reaching these targets and that progress will be reviewed in New York in September 2010; and urges the Government to take action to prioritise the targets which are off-track, particularly on sanitation.","date":"2010-03-29","status":"o"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"40821","proposer":"10123","edm":"1175","session":"2009-10","title":"Environmental Audit Committee Report On Air Quality","text":"That this House congratulates the Environmental Audit Committee on its report making clear the deadly and costly effect of air pollution; notes its headline point that more could be done to prevent the deaths of up to 50,000 people each year and that in pollution hotspots vulnerable residents such as those with asthma, could be dying up to nine years early; notes also that the health costs are estimated at between \u00a38.5 billion and \u00a320.2 billion a year, with the added risk of substantial EU fines for failure to limit pollutants; and calls on all the major political parties to present in their election manifestos clear, effective and co-ordinated programmes for how they will deal with this exceptionally serious matter.","date":"2010-03-24","status":"o"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"40360","proposer":"10185","edm":"768","session":"2009-10","title":"Hydrofluorocarbons And Supermarket Refrigeration","text":"That this House draws attention to the significant role supermarket refrigeration plays in reducing the UK's greenhouse gas emissions; notes that hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) can be up to 14,000 times more harmful in terms of global warming than carbon dioxide; is concerned that HFCs, used in supermarket refrigeration units, account for one third of the carbon footprint of most supermarkets; welcomes the progress made by certain supermarkets by reducing their use of HFCs, as highlighted by the Environmental Investigation Agency in its 2009 report, Chilling Facts; further notes that many large retailers are calling for legislation to phase out HFCs in the supermarket sector; and calls on the Government to promote the use of HFC-free refrigeration and to introduce legislation to phase out HFCs in large supermarkets as a matter of urgency.","date":"2010-02-01","status":"o"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"38786","proposer":"10383","edm":"1608","session":"2008-09","title":"Covanta Energy","text":"That this House is concerned that Covanta Energy, a US-based waste incineration company, is proposing to build incinerators in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, the North of Ireland and Wales; notes that regulators in the US have frequently cited Covanta for illegal air pollution, that the US National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint against illegal work rules at all of Covanta's US locations, and that Covanta has failed to sign a collective agreement with the Utility Workers Union of America in Rochester, Massachusetts, despite workers there having voted for union represention in May 2008; and therefore urges the Government to prioritise the health and welfare of both the public and workers by denying any Covanta application in the UK, unless it demonstrates full compliance with environmental and labour standards in all countries in which it conducts business.","date":"2009-06-08","status":"o"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"38650","proposer":"10616","edm":"1479","session":"2008-09","title":"Carbon Capture And Storage And Demand Rationing","text":"That this House recognises that the Government's proposal for new coal-fired power stations trialling a degree of carbon capture and storage (CCS), potentially fully retrofitted by 2025, would be a significant improvement in terms of rules, but would still involve a new wave of largely uncaptured emissions; notes that the Committee on Climate Change has recommended that no coal-fired plant should operate without full CCS by 2025; further notes Scottish Power's call for CCS to be trialled via support for retrofits to existing plant; urges the Government to consider instead addressing the energy gap and fuel poverty concerns largely via a demand rationing-type approach, for example introducing a tax-free allowance for personal electricity use, with tax take concentrated on the excess, facilitated by the rollout of smart meters; further notes that Vaclav Smil's calculation that to bury just 10 per cent. of the world's current carbon dioxide emissions via CCS would involve pumping carbon dioxide underground at a faster rate than all current world crude oil extraction; and considers that rationing-type approaches may have more far-reaching abatement potential than CCS, and so to address the energy gap largely via a rationing-type approach, whilst pioneering CCS out of a smaller network of power stations, would set a much more powerful and apposite example to the rest of the world, as well as achieve faster progress in tackling UK emissions.","date":"2009-05-13","status":"o"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"37680","proposer":"11923","edm":"630","session":"2008-09","title":"Sources Of Pollution In Nitrate Vulnerable Zones","text":"That this House notes the impact of the implementation of the Nitrate Vulnerable Zones Directive on farmers in those zones, including increased costs and huge inconvenience; further notes that higher nitrate levels in many bodies of water may originate from non-farming sources such as utility companies whose sewerage outlets may be responsible; and urges the Government to delay implementing the Directive until the sources of pollution can be determined and to ensure that utility companies and others who are responsible, carry the appropriate costs.","date":"2009-01-29","status":"o"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"37411","proposer":"10597","edm":"395","session":"2008-09","title":"Control Of Dust And Emissions From Construction And Demolition Sites","text":"That this House notes that poor air quality is currently estimated to reduce the life expectancy of every person in the UK by an average of seven to eight months and impacts particularly on children, the elderly and those in poor health; notes that emissions from demolition and construction sites can be significant contributors to poor air quality in local areas; notes with concern the delay in implementing measures to reduce these emissions at major construction projects, including those for the Olympics; and calls on all major construction projects, including those for the Olympics, to ensure that the most polluting plant used on site is fitted with suitable pollution control technology in line with the best practice guidance on The Control of Dust and Emissions from Construction and Demolition.","date":"2009-01-12","status":"o"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"36861","proposer":"10062","edm":"2457","session":"2007-08","title":"Clean Air Now Organisation","text":"That this House is concerned that the organisation Clean Air Now paid for an advertisement in the Independent newspaper on 20th October 2008 which criticised one of Greater Manchester's oldest and largest employers, Kellogg, for its opposition to the proposed Manchester congestion charge; understands that Clean Air Now receives funding from a number of public bodies, including Manchester is my Planet, Manchester Arts Festival and Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisations; notes that these bodies are funded directly by a number of public sources, including the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities the Greater Manchester Public Transport Executive and Authority and Manchester City Council; is further concerned that acting in this way constitutes an inappropriate use of public funds; and urges public bodies to take greater care with public funds particularly in the run-up to the forthcoming referendum on the proposed Manchester congestion charge.","date":"2008-11-10","status":"c"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"36844","proposer":"10155","edm":"2445","session":"2007-08","title":"Breach Of Air Quality Laws In London","text":"That this House notes that the UK has been in breach of air quality laws for particulate matter in London since 2005 and that, as of 1st November 2008, had missed its final chance to seek a delay against legal action; further notes that these European air quality laws are designed to tackle pollution and stop the harmful effects of particulate matter on people suffering from asthma and other respiratory diseases; further notes that the Government had been warned by the Campaign for Clean Air in London and by the European Commission that it would become liable for immediate prosecution if it failed to notify a request to the European Commission by 31st October 2008 for a time extension to show how it planned to comply in the future with these air quality laws; further notes that the Air Quality Minister, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, admitted this failure in the House of Lords on 4th November 2008; believes that if the Government is unable to comply with air quality laws it agreed to and has known about since 1999 then its credibility on its intention to tackle climate change is seriously undermined; and therefore calls on the European Commission to begin urgent legal action against the Government to obtain long overdue compliance and to bring some hope for the thousands of Londoners suffering from asthma and other respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.","date":"2008-11-06","status":"c"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"36433","proposer":"10716","edm":"2086","session":"2007-08","title":"Climate Change Bill (No.2)","text":"That this House notes that climate change represents one of the gravest challenges facing the world; therefore welcomes the cross-party recognition of the need for a climate change bill; nevertheless believes that the Climate Change Bill [Lords] requires strengthening in a number of areas in order to be both effective and to provide an appropriate example for other nations to follow; and therefore calls on the Government to bring forward proposals to include aviation emissions in carbon dioxide calculations to increase the target for reducing the UK's carbon dioxide emissions from 60 per cent. to 80 per cent. by 2050, and to make it mandatory for large companies to report on their carbon emissions in the Bill.","date":"2008-07-17","status":"c"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"36401","proposer":"10022","edm":"2059","session":"2007-08","title":"Air Quality","text":"That this House notes that poor air quality is currently estimated to reduce the life expectancy of every person in the UK by an average of seven to eight months and impacts particularly on children, the elderly and those in poor health; further notes that emissions from demolition and construction sites can be significant contributors to poor air quality in local areas; and calls on major construction projects such as for the Olympics to implement the Best Practice Guidance: The Control of Dust and Emissions from Construction and Demolition, by ensuring that all plants over 37 kilowatts are fitted with suitable pollution control technology.","date":"2008-07-16","status":"c"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"36285","proposer":"10614","edm":"1961","session":"2007-08","title":"Contaminated Ge Lighting Factory Site","text":"That this House welcomes the recent Environment Agency report calling for an investigation of the GE Lighting site in Leicester; recognises that land used by factories is at risk of contamination; further recognises that such land may be required for housing; further notes that Leicestershire is currently facing a housing shortage; and calls on the Government to encourage a full investigation of the site and to recognise that the land should be allocated for housing.","date":"2008-07-07","status":"c"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"36115","proposer":"10001","edm":"1811","session":"2007-08","title":"Sanitation And The Millennium Development Goals","text":"That this House commends the progress made with improving worldwide access to safe drinking water since the Millennium Development goals were announced in September 2000; but notes the lack of progress in providing basic sanitation; notes with grave concern that, according to UNICEF, poor sanitation leads to diseases which kill over 5,000 children per day, and prevents thousands more from attending school and their mothers from working; recognises that even healthy girls are often unable to attend school if sanitary facilities are poor or there are no separate facilities for boys and girls; is concerned that this lack of sanitation will mean the goal of halving world poverty by 2015 will be missed by over half a billion people if serious action is not taken; recognises that the Global Plan of Action on Water and Sanitation could save the lives of over 5,000 children per day; and calls on the Prime Minister to gain support for this plan at the UN conference on the Millennium Development Goals in September 2008.","date":"2008-06-17","status":"c"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"35951","proposer":"10105","edm":"1670","session":"2007-08","title":"Open Windrow Composting","text":"That this House is concerned about the increase in open windrow composting sites and the dangers they pose to public health from the release of millions of pathogens into the air and water courses; calls for more research by the Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive on bio-aerosol dispersion at varying wind speeds and the safe distances of residences from such sites; notes that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has requested improved bio-aerosol risk assessments to facilitate updated guidance for applicants and further research on dose response is underway; and considers that DEFRA should advise all local authorities that consideration of new applications be deferred until the further research is completed.","date":"2008-06-02","status":"c"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"35702","proposer":"10022","edm":"1441","session":"2007-08","title":"Plastic Bags","text":"That this House welcomes the increased attention in the press to the pollution caused by plastic bags; notes official figures which show that one in 10 public spaces is littered with plastic bags; further notes that single-use plastic bags are only used for an average of 20 minutes but take 1,000 years to rot away; congratulates high street chains Marks & Spencer and Debenhams on their recent decision to impose a five pence charge on their single-use plastic bags; regrets that the Big Four major supermarket retailers, Tesco, Morrisons, Asda and Sainsbury's, continue to give away free plastic bags; and calls on the Big Four and other major retailers to follow the example set by Marks & Spencer and Debenhams by introducing a five pence charge on single-use plastic bags to encourage a switch to greener alternatives such as cotton, hemp and jute carriers or re-usable `bags for life'.","date":"2008-04-28","status":"c"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"35500","proposer":"10608","edm":"1266","session":"2007-08","title":"Bhopal 23 Years On","text":"That this House deplores the continuing suffering of the people of Bhopal 23 years after the world's worst industrial disaster; notes that Amnesty International has reported ongoing violations of human rights, that contaminated factory land is still not properly cleaned up, that high quantities of organochlorines and lead pollute local water supplies, that there are continuing occurrences of birth deformities and ill health and that 15 people die each month as a result; congratulates the work of the Sambhavna medical clinic in treating victims of gas and water poisoning and that of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal in trying to make the government of India meet its obligations to provide clean water and adequate medical, social and economic rehabilitation; and further applauds the campaign for pursuing polluter pays principles against Dow Chemical and extradition of its fugitive subsidiary Union Carbide, which refuses to face charges in India of culpable homicide in connection with the deaths of 23,000 people.","date":"2008-03-26","status":"c"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"35215","proposer":"10203","edm":"1017","session":"2007-08","title":"Contaminated Air On Commercial Aircraft","text":"That this House is concerned that medical and scientific evidence shows that as many as 200,000 passengers a year are exposed to air contaminated with organophosphates and hydrocarbon compounds on UK-registered aircraft and that the number of contaminated events in one recent year reported by the British Airline Pilots Association were a record high; regrets the lack of UK research into the danger of exposure to pyrolised engine oils; notes that effective filtration systems costing less than \u00c2\u00a310,000 per aircraft are available and calls for their mandatory use to reduce serious risks to the health of the travelling public and operating crews; and believes that passengers should be informed when they have been exposed to air contamination on UK registered aircraft.","date":"2008-02-22","status":"c"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"34968","proposer":"10022","edm":"804","session":"2007-08","title":"Livestock Production And Greenhouse Gas Emissions","text":"That this House notes that a report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations shows that livestock production is responsible for 18 per cent. of human-induced global greenhouse gas emissions which is a higher share than transport; further notes that the UK's consumption of meat and dairy products accounts for some 8 per cent. of UK consumption related greenhouse gases; further notes that the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the livestock sector are mainly in the form not of carbon dioxide but of methane and nitrous oxide; believes that the failure of the Climate Change Bill to set reduction targets for methane and nitrous oxide will make it difficult to address the emission of greenhouse gases by the livestock sector; and urges the Government to bring forward amendments to the Climate Change Bill to include reduction targets for methane and nitrous oxide.","date":"2008-01-28","status":"c"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"34954","proposer":"10006","edm":"789","session":"2007-08","title":"Energy And Climate Change","text":"That this House recognises the global imperative of tackling climate change; notes the importance of decarbonising the UK's energy production in order to meet this imperative; is concerned therefore by current plans to develop over 10GW of new coal power stations in Britain, which will result in 50 million extra tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from the UK economy per annum; and asks the Secretary of State for Business, Employment and Regulatory Reform to call in the application to build a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent, in order that full consideration is given to the implications of the proposed development for the UK's climate change and energy policies.","date":"2008-01-25","status":"c"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"34922","proposer":"10790","edm":"759","session":"2007-08","title":"Oil And Fuel Pollution Control","text":"That this House notes that fuel and oil leaks are the most frequently reported type of pollution of inland waters in England and Wales; supports the Environmental Industries Commission campaign for a MOT scheme for oil tanks in commercial premises; and calls for further measures to reduce pollution incidents from oil and fuel.","date":"2008-01-23","status":"c"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"34898","proposer":"10245","edm":"736","session":"2007-08","title":"Climate Change Bill","text":"That this House welcomes the introduction of the Climate Change Bill to Parliament and the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP's) recent Human Development Report which described the Bill as a bold and innovative proposal to create a national carbon budget; notes however that the UNDP also warned that the Bill needed improving as its targets were not ambitious enough, and international aviation emissions were excluded, meaning that even if the Bill were applied to every developed country, global temperature would rise well beyond the two degrees Celsius limit and perhaps as high as four or five degrees; congratulates the Prime Minister on his speech on 19th November 2007, when he acknowledged the evidence now suggests that as part of an international agreement developed countries may have to reduce their emissions by up to 80 per cent.; and urges the Government to support amendments to the Bill during its passage through Parliament to address the UNDP concerns, making it an unequivocally world-leading response to climate change.","date":"2008-01-21","status":"c"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"34451","proposer":"11923","edm":"333","session":"2007-08","title":"Restrictions In Nitrate Vulnerable Zones","text":"That this House notes the implementation of restrictions in nitrate vulnerable zones and expresses concern that they will lead to hardship for farmers in those zones because of the requirements for farms to have six months' storage capacity for slurry, a reduction in stock numbers and to observe a ban on spreading slurry during winter months; and calls upon the Government to take into account the additional costs and reduced income for farms that these restrictions will entail and to act to ensure that this does not become another financial blow to the farming industry.","date":"2007-11-20","status":"c"},{"topic":"Pollution","id":"34235","proposer":"10526","edm":"145","session":"2007-08","title":"Environmental Coalition For A Marine Bill","text":"That this House welcomes the inclusion of a draft Marine Bill in the legislative programme; applauds the work of the Marine Conservation Society, the RSPB, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, The Wildlife Trusts and WWF who came together through the Wildlife and Countryside Link coalition to press for a Marine Bill for the 2007-08 legislative programme; notes their disappointment at the omission of a full Bill; notes the continued cross-party political support for a Marine Bill; welcomes the widespread public support for the Bill gathered by these organisations over the summer; believes that with the utmost urgency the United Kingdom needs a new approach to managing and protecting its marine resources, wildlife and cultural heritage; further believes that the Marine Bill must be based on a statutory system of spatial planning to reduce conflict between the many users of these seas as well as reform of inshore fisheries; further believes that, given the extraordinary richness of wildlife in UK seas, the Bill must put protection of wildlife at the heart of marine policy through measures including the designation of a network of marine conservation zones; and calls on the Government to introduce a Marine Bill at the earliest opportunity during the current Parliament.","date":"2007-11-07","status":"c"}]