Parliamentary Liaison

Engaging with parliamentarians is vital to the ability of CIWEM to influence policy makers and promote legislation which fosters a clean, green and sustainable world. Parliamentary Committees and Groups have a vital role in drafting, revising and evaluating government policy and therefore CIWEM’s active involvement with these groups is one of the most important areas of our policy work. In recent years, several committees have produced reports which have global implications for the environment and CIWEM is increasing its profile within Parliament by linking to committees, groups and think tanks.

CIWEM is a member of a number of Parliamentary groups; these groups bring together Parliamentarians and interested parties to discuss a particular area of concern.  Full details of meetings attended and outputs can be found on this page.

Manifesto 2009 - New

CIWEM's new publication Fitting the Bill: A Manifesto for Environmental Action sets out the Institution's policies for the next five years to help mitigate and adapt to climate change and other serious environmental threats. The Manifesto includes calls for the creation of a low carbon society, a national programme to retrofit appropriate water and energy saving technologies into the existing housing stock, an end to new airport capacity and environmentally damaging subsidies for the aviation industry and the introduction of a mechanism to halt deforestation globally.

The Manifesto aims to assist and inform legislators and decision makers over the coming parliamentary term identifying five areas requiring urgent action. CIWEM has drawn upon its expertise and experience and recommends pragmatic, achievable responses. For further information, please contact Joanna Cooper, Policy Officer. 

Click here for information on how you can promote the Manifesto in the run up to the general election.

CIWEM Parliamentary Function

In November 2009, CIWEM held its annual Parliamentary Reception kindly sponsored by Morrison Construction and Franklin Hodge.  This annual event provides the opportunity for CIWEM members, trustees, supporters, MP's and peers to meet and view pictures from the CIWEM Photographer of the Year Competition 2008. 

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Parliamentarian of the Year Award 2009.  The award was presented by Huw Irranca-Davies MP, Minister for the Natural and Marine Environment, Wildlife and Rural Affairs to Peter Ainsworth MP to recognise Peter’s long and illustrious parliamentary career and his dedication to environmental affairs.

All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change

Purpose: To raise awareness of the threat of climate change and to promote policies which counter that threat.

Recent meetings have included:

• Special audience with European Commissioner for the Environment, Stavros Dimas 11th January 2007
• James Lovelock Address 13th March 2007
• Briefing from the Hadley Centre on the IPCC Working Groups I & II Reports
  16th April 2007
• Aldersgate Group’s Launch of ‘Carbon Costs: Corporate Carbon Accounting and Reporting’ 15th May 2007
• All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group AGM & Networking Event 10th July 2007
• Presentation by the Met Office and the Environment Agency on Flooding 17th July 2007
• The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers Reception for the Second
  100 Days of Carbon Clean Up Campaign, 11th September 2007
• Meeting on Carbon Trading Policies, 16th October 2007
• All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group Meeting in conjunction with the WWF on the Climate Change Bill,
  13th November 2007
• All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group Meeting on Real-Time Electricity Monitors, 27th November 2007
• All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group Meeting on the forthcoming Bali COP, 29th November 2007
• All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group Meeting with Prof. Lester Brown, 5th March 2008
• All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group Meeting with Dr. Hermann Scheer in conjunction with PRASEG and the German Embassy in the UK, 22nd April 2008
• All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group Meeting with the Rt. Hon Hilary Benn MP, 28th April 2008
• All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group Meeting with the Aldersgate Group, 29th April 2008
• All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group Meeting with Matthias Machnig, State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, to mark the launch of the Climate Change Partnership Wednesday, 18th June 2008
• All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group Meeting with Lord Adair Turner, 2nd July 2008
• All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group Meeting on the Future of the Yasuni, 8th October 2008
• All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group Meeting with Professor Sir Martin Sweeting, 21st October 2008
• House of Commons Seminar with the Green Alliance: What Future for Coal? Energy Security, Climate Change, and Carbon Capture and Storage, 20th October 2008
• All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group Meeting on REDD and Forestry, 26th November 2008
• All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group Meeting with the Rt. Hon Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development, In conjunction with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development, 19th January 2009
  

All Party Parliamentary Engineering and Information Technology Group 

Purpose: To promote the role of engineering and the future of engineering in the UK.

Further information to follow

All Party Parliamentary Group on Sewers and Sewerage

Purpose: To raise awareness of how sewers and sewerage relate to public health.

Recent meetings have included:

• All Party Parliamentary Group – Sewers and Sewerage AGM 5th July 2007

Associate Parliamentary Flooding Prevention Group

Purpose: To provide a forum for Parliamentarians and other interested parties to discuss issues relating to flooding and flood prevention.

• Meeting with Rt. Hon. Hilary Benn MP, 26th February 2008

Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Waste Group

Purpose: To develop a deeper understanding between government, parliamentarians, business leaders and the waste sector in the sustainable management of waste.

• Industrial Symbiosis Regional, National and Global 16th October 2007

Environmental Audit Committee

Remit: "to consider to what extent the polices and programmes of government departments and non-departmental public bodies contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development; to audit their performance against such targets as may be set for them by Her Majesty's Ministers; and to report thereon to the House."

Committees consist solely of MP’s and Lords; CIWEM has attended a number of oral evidence sessions as a spectator.

Sessions attended:

• Oral Evidence Session on The Challenge of Climate Change Rt Hon David Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 4th June 2007
• Oral Evidence Session on The Challenge of Climate Change Professor Sir David King, Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, 12th June 2007
• EAC New Evidence Session - Greener Homes for the Future? Phil Woolas MP, Minister of State (Environment), Defra and Caroline Flint, Minister for Housing and Planning, Department of Communities and Local Government, 3rd June 2008
• Evidence session on Carbon Capture and Storage, Malcolm Wicks MP, Minister of State for Energy, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, 4th June 2008

CIWEM is also forging ongoing links with political think tanks and lobbying organisations as part of a long term aim to become more involved in Parliament. 

Meetings attended include:

• London Mayor environment Hustings - Green Alliance 14th February 2008
• 'Bali and Beyond - Delivering a post-Kyoto deal' with Phil Woolas MP and Simon Maxwell, Director, Overseas Development Institute - Fabian Society 4th March 2008
• 'Ecotowns, Adaptation and the Built Environment’ with Iain Wright MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government, Fabian Society - 17th June 2008
• ‘Encouraging Green Behaviour’ Joan Ruddock MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Fabian Society seminar - 9th July 2008
• Community Responses to Climate Change, A Fabian policy seminar at Labour Party Conference 2008, 24th September 2008
• Fabian ‘Progressive Manifesto’ lecture with Hilary Benn MP on The Politics of Food, 10th December 2008
  

For our other networking and liaison work please see http://www.ciwem.org/policy/consultation/index.asp

For further information on CIWEM’s work in Parliament please contact Joanna Cooper jcooper@ciwem.org