Margaret Beckett Quotations

We believe we can reach the 20% target with support from all sections of the economy and society.

We face a timetable that is driven by nature, science and by the predicted effect of climate change on our world, not by our own negotiating processes.

There are some problems remaining but what we have to be wary of is creating further problems ourselves.

My husband and I have enjoyed many summer holidays on the Continent, and many people say that their most memorable trips have been the journeys made on the spur of the moment.

I am therefore announcing today our decision to set up a fundamental review of the agency.

Caravanning can be as simple or as luxurious as you choose. My own experience is probably not dissimilar to that of many families across the country who also share this hobby.

Bush agreed in Gleneagles that climate change was urgent.

There is no greater challenge facing the world.

I accept, though it is with hindsight, that this is so,

It is clear that for China and India the priority is (economic) development.

It is imperative that we find new ways to cooperate and develop a shared understanding of how the world can respond to climate change.

Sustainable development is a key issue for the UK's Presidency, and at our meeting we will be talking about climate change and about how to make agriculture more sustainable.

It is excellent news that we will soon be able to increase our supplies of home-produced beef.

You can almost never say that a particular event is caused by climate change,

We are keeping these issues under review but there are lots of questions about the effectiveness of the vaccine and how it will mask the disease. We don't rule out the use of vaccine but there are a number of questions still to be addressed.

The public utilities and the public services are among the people who have done the most preparatory work.

sorry or pleased that as far as I'm aware, I have not received an e-mail saying 'I love you.'

Technology is essential to make the transition to a low-carbon economy and targets ... have a vital role to play in driving forward that progress.

Some people think that going on a caravan holiday is a slightly more upscale version of camping. Let me assure you, it is much better than that. You know that you will have your creature comforts wherever you are. I never have to pack light, and I can put the kettle on in any location.

This campaign is about giving people confidence the work is being done.

It will be essential, for China and for everybody else, to see if we can do something to allow them to use the resources that are available to them, but in a clean carbon way.

Innovation needs to be encouraged so that land managers can seize opportunities related to climate change mitigation and adoption.

I have to tell you that, sadly, this affectionate greeting contains a virus which has immobilized the House's internal communication system.

Everyone must be clear that business as usual is not an option. Most of us live in buildings erected long before we were born and our successors will have to live with the environmental consequences of the buildings we construct today. It is vital that we minimise harmful impacts for those who come after us

The rewards that will flow from a successful shift to a low carbon economy are high. Neither governments nor business can afford to let these opportunities pass them by

In the UK what we've found is that even businesses which prided themselves already on their efficient management find that a really beady-eyed scrutiny of their resource management, with an eye to environmental best-practice and long term sustainability, produce fresh efficiency and fresh savings that actually shock those in the company

Humankind has the science and technology to destroy itself or to provide prosperity for all. But while science offers us these opportunities, science will not make that choice for us. Only the moral power of a world acting as a community can

Today's dialogue has succeeded in reinforcing the need for international partnerships and cooperation in tackling the reality of climate change.

We've known for some time that we have to worry about the impacts of climate change on our children's and grandchildren's generations. But we now have to worry about ourselves as well.

It is a stark and arresting fact that, since the middle of the 20th century, humankind has consumed more natural resources than in all previous human history

Achieving climate security must be the core of foreign policy. All of us have to pick up the pace.

I don't join or leave things lightly.

My own passion for caravan holidays has been occasionally commented on by the media. It is certainly something that I am proud of.

You have to make your choice and live with your choice.

One of the reasons I came into politics was because I thought I lacked the skills to be a social worker.

Many unsustainable behaviours are locked-in and made 'normal', not just by the way that we produce and consume, but by the absence of easy alternatives

Environmental damage such as graffiti, fly-posting and general littering is a menace that is becoming all too prevalent, not just in inner cities but in many communities - urban and rural.

You couldn't necessarily say, 'That hurricane, that storm, that flood only happened because of climate change,' (but) you're starting to see a pattern of extreme weather events.

The focus of our agenda for this meeting is on energy, and on how we can make better use of technology to make the transition to a low-carbon economy.