Climate Change Bill [HL]

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendments Nos. 22 to 24. I am most grateful to the Deputy Speaker for his professional guidance through the intricacies of this stage of the Bill. In moving these amendments, I shall speak also to Amendments Nos. 26, 27, 29, 30, 32 to 39, 53, 55, 60, 65, 69, 70, 72, 73 and 75. The key amendments in this group form a comprehensive package of government amendments introduced in the other place to clarify the role of the adaptation sub-committee of the Committee on Climate Change. These amendments also concern the formal vesting date of the Committee on Climate Change, the date by which it is to provide formal advice on the 2050 target and the level of the first three carbon budgets. We listened carefully to the arguments put forward in this House about adaptation. We fully agree that expert advice and scrutiny of how the Government assess the risks and implement their adaptation work programme are important and useful, and we believe an adaptation sub-committee of the Committee on Climate Change could have a potentially useful role in this regard. However, we believe that the Committee on Climate Change’s role on adaptation should be consistent with its work on mitigation; that is, giving technical advice and analysing and scrutinising progress. We think it should have a slightly different role from that originally proposed by this House. Our amendments propose that it should provide technical advice to the Government and the devolved Administrations on the UK risk assessment and progress reports to Parliament about the UK Government’s adaptation programme. As we propose new adaptation functions to the work of the Committee on Climate Change, we have made small amendments around the provision of information, guidance and directions relating specifically to the committee’s new adaptation functions. We also propose to change the date by which the Committee on Climate Change’s advice is required and the commencement date for Part 2 in order for the committee to be brought to life and formally give its advice on 1 December. There are also a small number of minor and consequential drafting amendments in this group. I hope noble Lords will accept that this has been a positive response to debate in your Lordships' House. Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.