Marking 25 years of environmental scrutiny: a Committee Corridor special
23 March 2023
Only one Select Committee has the remit to delve into the environmental policy of government departments across Whitehall to make sure they are all doing their part for Net Zero Britain. This is the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) and its Chair, Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, presents a special, one-off episode of the Committee Corridor podcast, out today.
Established by the House of Commons under the Labour administration shortly after the 1997 General Election, in its last 25 years the EAC has gone from strength to strength, scrutinising issues ranging from fast fashion to microplastics, the energy efficiency of the UK’s homes to the pollution coursing through England’s waterways.
To mark this significant milestone, the Committee held an anniversary event at Imperial College London in association with the Imperial Policy Forum and the Grantham Institute at Imperial. The event was attended by around 150 people including stakeholders and academics, journalists, former Chairs and Committee members past and present.
The keynote address was given by former Prime Minister, Rt Hon Theresa May MP, whose administration brought in the legislation establishing the target of net zero by 2050:
“I suspect many people didn’t think behind the headline to what would need to be done to achieve [the net zero] goal. It was also an example of the sad reality that action in Government is more likely to happen when Number 10 is driving it, but Number 10 can’t drive everything. The centre sets the vision, and it is up to other parts of Government to deliver that in practice.
“And that is why encouraging the right collaborative approach across Government is so important. But it is also why it is crucial to have bodies outside Government providing assessment and challenge. And this is where Parliament and in particular, the Environmental Audit Committee have a critical role to play.”
A panel discussion involved Hannah White, from the Institute for Government, Professor Mary Ryan from Imperial College, David Shukman, former BBC science editor and former EAC Chair and Visiting Professor at Cranfield University, Mary Creagh. They discussed the impact of the Committee, with issues covered ranging from the EAC’s cross-cutting scrutiny role influencing policy change, its legacy on Ministry of Justice reforms and its punchy recommendations gaining the media’s attention. Several contributors speak of the cross-cutting nature of the Environmental Audit Committee as both opportunity and challenge. The BBC’s former science editor, David Shukman, said that cross-party scrutiny was ‘an incredibly useful asset in the national debate’.
Former EAC Chair Joan Walley was in the audience and spoke about how far the committee had come and the renewed focus on the next 25 years, up to 2050. With an eye to the future, the Committee was encouraged to ‘get stuck in’ to some of the big questions while also thinking of new ways to hear from the public.
The final segment of the podcast focuses on pitches made to current Committee members that it may wish to explore as future inquiries. In turn, three academics discussed:
- Whether grassroots football teams and sports clubs are being sufficiently supported to reach net zero;
- The need to tackle the health impacts of microplastics pollution in a multidisciplinary way;
- How to increase heat resilience and reduce demand on cooling items, such as air conditioners.
An announcement will be made shortly as to which issue the Committee will examine.
“What a great 25th anniversary event for the Environmental Audit Committee. I’d like to express my thanks to all those who took part, all those who shared in our history and our achievements to date, and all of those who will shape our future.” – EAC Chair Philip Dunne