Climate Change Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 6: 6: Clause 25, page 13, line 23, at end insert— ““(3) Nothing in subsections (1) or (2) shall prejudice the Secretary of State’s ability to secure further emissions reductions beyond the minimum level of compliance with section 5(1).”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, the amendment has been tabled in the interests of further clarification on an issue that, although it has been debated in depth, demands further scrutiny. The issue is of such importance that addressing it again at Third Reading is as important as debating it for the first time. I will be brief, but I want to explain what the amendment does and our intentions in tabling it. It offers further clarity to a provision that is already in the clause—we understand that—which is that the duty to secure a 70 per cent reduction in domestic emissions exists only in so far as the budget is concerned. There is nothing to stop a Government buying more and more credits after that to secure further reductions. This was motivated by the evidence that the noble Lord, Lord Turner, gave to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee last week. We appreciate that our amendment does not entirely address the noble Lord’s concern. However, we bring this issue before the House again today because of some of the concerns that he did express—namely, that there is a chance that the current 70/30 split might result in the Government having to set less ambitious targets. That would be a sad repercussion for a well intentioned amendment. We want to make sure that this does not result in fewer emissions reductions and we hope that there would be some way of making the amendment workable, while maintaining the integrity of its intention. Let us make no mistake: your Lordships have spoken. This House resoundingly affirmed its commitment to a 70 per cent domestic reduction; but, as we noted in our speech to that amendment, we would be willing to consider other ways of going about this, should it not be workable. The important point was to get a firm commitment, beyond a few general ministerial comments, that domestic reduction was of primary importance. It might be that economic circumstances and the sheer time it takes to fit new technologies into existing frameworks conspire together to mean that in one budget a 69 per cent domestic reduction may be better than a reduction of 70 per cent if the total reduction can be higher by virtue of the ratio being different. I simply do not know. What I do know is that the most important part of our fight against climate change must occur within these shores, and your Lordships have voted to recognise that fact. The Government seemed to think that there were problems with the structure of the amendment and that somehow it was unworkable. It was with disappointment, then, that I saw that they had not tried to address this issue themselves. Can the Minister give any details about conversations that he has had with the Treasury regarding overseas caps? Will he give the House an assurance that he is working to find a way to cap overseas credits that reflects the will and opinion of this House, or is he simply content to let this stand in the Bill in its current form? Essentially, we hope that with this amendment the Government will be able to give us assurances about their plans regarding overseas caps now that the Bill has been amended. I beg to move.