Clause 3
Climate Change Bill [Lords]
1:15 pm
David Maclean (Penrith and The Border, Conservative)
My right hon. Friend makes an exceedingly telling point, and far more eloquently than I could. However, ours is more than just a moral obligation. Millions of species could be at risk by 2050—not millions of one kind of species, but possibly millions of different and undiscovered species in the rain forests—and it would be utterly wrong to lose them. We all worry about the polar bears and orang-utans, which of course are important, but they are probably sexier and more television friendly than some of the bugs, creepy crawlies, flora and other things in the rain forests that could be vital to human health. Pharmaceuticals, biomedical research, the production of food, whether on land or in the oceans, fibres, fuel, clean water, healthy soil and the ability to store carbon all depend on biodiversity. Those are crucial aspects of scientific knowledge that the Minister ought to consider.
I am certain that the Secretary of State would consider some of those things, but I would like the Minister to assure us that, if the power in clause 3 is exercised, all the biodiversity aspects will be taken into account—not just whether the temperature is up or down 0.5°, or whether we should opt for 60 or 80 per cent.