Climate Change Bill [HL]

My Lords, I have only just got going. I know that I have said that before. I am simply setting out the facts—and being very careful with my use of words—that those companies are required to disclose at present. Secondly, there are non-financial issues, which are relevant to the development of performance in a business. Environmental matters can be included, as noble Lords have already said. The good companies will include them, and for lots of reasons. At the end of the day, being good companies, they see that the bottom line improves as well as the customer base. The Companies Act business review requirements require that, and we expect that many companies will report on climate change issues in their business reviews. We will start to get a picture of that in the next few years, which will feed into the proposals. On the standards for reporting, I understand that debates, in which I was not involved, during the passage of the Companies Act 2006 concluded that, rather than mandatory standards for narrative reporting, we could encourage minimum compliance with guidance and a voluntary approach. That would ensure that directors gave proper consideration to reporting. A lot of work is being done to support voluntary reporting. I must point out again that UK companies are already global leaders—I may fall foul of this; I am not claiming that they are the best—in voluntary environmental reporting. The noble Lord, Lord Taylor, asked about the National Audit Office report. As that report says, UK greenhouse gas reporting follows international reporting requirements and, as I think I said during the passage of this Bill, we follow the best practice guidelines and have been favourably reviewed by international experts from the United Nations climate change convention and the Kyoto Protocol. If that is not enough, Clause 29, which came across our radar earlier, requires that UK emissions, "““must be determined consistently with international carbon reporting practice””." There are some issues relating to what Defra is doing. We are supporting the secretariat to the Climate Disclosure Standards Board, which was launched at the World Economic Forum in January 2007. David Miliband attended as the then Defra Secretary of State. The objective of the board member organisations is to align their core requests for information from companies to ensure that they report climate change-related information in a standardised format that facilitates easier comparative analysis by investors, managers and the public. I know that some people take the old-fashioned view that company reports are simply for the shareholders and that everyone else should mind their own business, but we have gone way beyond that. I am in a position where I can break the habit of a lifetime. We have just had a Division, which the Government won by two votes—I am incredibly grateful to the two Members—on an issue that would have been major. I am using my experience from this place and from the other place. I have to say that the postcards can be a real bore, especially when they come in separate letters from Members of Parliament and require individual replies, to which they are entitled. It is a brave Minister who spends large sums which have not been agreed with colleagues, but that is not an issue with these amendments. As I and others have already said, when the Bill goes to the other place, the Government’s collective view and individual views will determine how the Bill finally ends up and the lines that are taken. There are no lines in the sand in that respect. Every amendment that this place sends to the other place will be considered and either rejected or modified, as happens when the Government think again. Therefore, taking this completely sensible and cost-effective approach, I am going to suggest that the House accept the amendment.