Mr Dunne was one of two candidates to put themselves forward for the role, alongside fellow Conservative Dr Matthew Offord.
He was appointed at a sitting of the House of Commons yesterday (29th January).
Mr Dunne said: “I am delighted to be appointed chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, and I would like to thank my colleagues for their support.
“Following on from the high-profile work of the previous committee, I look forward to building on our successes and continuing to have far-reaching impact in our future work programme once the committee is established.
“With the spotlight on our environmental footprint, there is no better time to be considering how government and organisations can work effectively to protect our precious natural environment.”
Votes cast in the secret ballot of MPs were counted under the Alternative Vote system.
The EAC considers the extent to which the policies and programmes of government departments and non-departmental public bodies contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development.
Former farmer
A former farmer, Mr Dunne was first elected to the House of Commons in 2005.
He was appointed minister for state for health in 2016 but was dismissed in Theresa May’s January 2018 reshuffle and joined the EAC immediately after.
During his campaign to chair the EAC he was backed by MPs from his own party and others, including James Brokenshire, Penny Mordaunt and Yvette Cooper.
In a statement on Twitter he said: “Very grateful to colleagues who have elected me to chair the EAC.
“Our previous chair left a tough act to follow, but I look forward to playing my role in ensuring the government lives up to its commitments on the environment.”
Very grateful to colleagues who have elected me to Chair @CommonsEAC. Our previous Chair left a tough act to follow, but I look forward to playing my role in ensuring the government lives up to its commitments on the environment. pic.twitter.com/yBhxHYVJNw
— Philip Dunne (@Dunne4Ludlow) January 29, 2020
General election
Labour MP Mary Creagh chaired the EAC from 2016 until the loss of her Wakefield seat in the December election (see letsrecycle.com story).
She had represented the town, which voted overwhelmingly to leave the European Union in 2016, since 2005.
A vocal critic of Brexit, under her stewardship the EAC tackled issues ranging from textiles recycling to regulation and government policy.
EFRA
Earlier this week (27 January), Conservative MP for Tiverton and Honiton Neil Parish was confirmed as the chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) (see letsrecycle.com story).
As the only candidate for the role he was elected unopposed. Mr Parish returns as chair, having been first elected in 2015.
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