Climate Change Bill [HL]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to respond to this debate. May I say to my noble friend Lord Puttnam, who is agonizingly close to missing his aeroplane, that it was a privilege to hear him speak. It is interesting to hear what he will say to his grandchildren about this Bill. I was trying to decide with the excellent team of officials who have formed the Bill team over a long time what comparative piece of legislation one could compare this Bill to. The best I can come up with is the 1948 NHS Act—a Bill of immense importance which, 60 years later, is still relevant. I accept that the Bill has been improved enormously during the passage through your Lordships’ House and another place. I agree with my noble friend that this is a question of trust because this is partly about legislative requirements and partly about leadership. It is about leadership in this country—Government and Parliament showing how important it is to deal with climate change—but also about giving the UK a solid basis from which to negotiate internationally. I disagree with the general sentiments of my noble friend and the noble Lords, Lord Taylor and Lord Teverson, on this matter. Before I come to the amendment, it is important to reflect that the critical requirement is on the UK Government that net emissions must be reduced by at least 80 per cent by 2050. The Government must set and meet five-year carbon budgets starting from this year. It also requires that the Secretary of State, in carrying out his duties, must have regard to the need for UK domestic emissions reductions. Government Amendment No. 17B would require a limit to be set for each budgetary period on the number of overseas credits that can be purchased to meet the budget, and the Committee on Climate Change will be advising on the appropriate balance between domestic effort and the use of overseas credit. We think that we have listened carefully to the principal points made in the debate, but as I have explained, the government amendments will provide the flexibility to exclude credits of a certain description that we believe to be essential to preserve the integrity of the EU ETS.