Climate Change Bill [HL]

My Lords, I very much support the amendment and was delighted to put my name to it. I am aware that my noble friend has a very difficult case to answer—probably as difficult a case as any Minister has had to answer on any issue for a long, long time. Does he agree that if such reporting takes place, it would have a salutary effect on the way that companies behave? Is there any other way in which the same end could be achieved, other than that suggested in the amendment? If there is, we would all be happy to hear whether the Government will propose it. I believe that there is no better way to achieve this end; I cannot think of any other way to approach it. I therefore very much hope that the Minister will be sympathetic to the arguments put forward. As my noble friend Lord Whitty said, if this were on the statute book and given effect, the culture of companies would inevitably change. In tackling climate change, we are seeking to alter the culture of individuals and of businesses and companies. This is one obvious way to make enormous progress on that. Of course it is a competitive world. This is a case where competition can only be a good thing. I would like to see reporting on Tesco, on Sainsbury, on Asda. Then we would begin to see what is actually happening. If we had reporting on the different airlines, would that not be interesting and salutary? It might influence our behaviour as between Tesco and Sainsbury and between airlines—I had better not say British Airways these days. That would enable us as consumers to make informed choices. If any of us were shareholders—I am not, except through an ISA, a PEP—we could exert pressure on companies. If companies had that pressure brought on them, I believe that they would respond, because that is the nature of the marketplace and of competition. While that information does not exist, companies are under no pressure. Even well-meaning people within companies—trade unions, sympathetic directors and sympathetic workers—are in difficulty because they do not have the ammunition with which to make the argument. Goodness me, if I were working for a company and could see that down the road they had a much better record, I would want to know why they were doing it and we were not and what we could do to change our behaviour. I find the argument absolutely compelling. I look forward to my noble friend’s positive response.