Climate Change Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am grateful for the support for the amendment. To answer the specific questions, the government amendment covers both greenhouse gases that are included in our targets and gases that are not included. For the greenhouse gases that are included in the targets, Clause 20 sets out a process for defining the base year. We will come to government amendments on this clause shortly, which will strengthen the independent scrutiny of how these powers are used. The second part of Amendment No. 69A relates only to greenhouse gases that are not included in our targets. We are talking only about reporting emissions, not how we count them towards the targets. We think that it is important that the Government should report to Parliament on the emissions of greenhouse gases even if they are not included in our targets, which will ensure the maximum transparency. The amendment ensures that Parliament will get information on emissions in the most recent year and emissions in the baseline year to make comparing the two straightforward. We have to be realistic about this. This was once hinted at in Committee. Let us suppose that we identify a new greenhouse gas, the by-product of some industrial process that we have not got on the radar at the moment, in 2030. There might not be any information on emissions of that gas as far back as 1990, so a different baseline would be appropriate. Clause 73(3) allows us to include other gases in the Bill and in our reports under the Bill only if there is an EU or international agreement that it is a greenhouse gas. The point is that it is about the safeguards; there will be appropriate safeguards. It is important that we are happy to consider these points. The specific question that the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, asked me is not covered in my notes, but to me it beggars belief that the Secretary of State would not consult the climate change committee. On Question, amendment agreed to.