Climate Change Bill [HL]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Crickhowell, on his tenacity in pursuing this important issue. Certainly one of the big messages from the Government has been that this Bill leads globally in the fight against climate change because there are statutory targets, yet there are two fundamental problems with the claim, one of which this amendment would begin to put right. The statutory targets do not apply strongly enough to the five-year budgets that frame the short-term areas of action and count rather more than the target for 2050. We also have a statutory obligation on Ministers which concerns the 2050 target, but in the Bill is set at 60 per cent. We are therefore in the strange position of having the Prime Minister expecting the climate change committee to come back with a reduction of around 80 per cent, but the target set out in primary legislation remaining at 60 per cent. The legal obligation in 2050 remains at 60 per cent rather than 80 per cent. The amendment goes a long way towards solving the interim issue. We on these Benches have a particular problem because we believe that it is absolutely wrong for the incorrect target to be on the face of the Bill that passes from this House. This matter was voted on and the opinion of these Benches was rejected. I do not agree with that but I accept the will of the House. We will fight for our target in the other place when the Bill goes there. Again I congratulate the noble Lord on this approach. The amendment would strengthen the Bill considerably. As the House has already expressed its will on the 60/80 argument, we on these Benches support this strengthening of government accountability.