Clause 16
Climate Change Bill [Lords]
5:45 pm
Gregory Barker (Shadow Minister, Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; Bexhill and Battle, Conservative)
Once again, my right hon. Friend has put his finger on it. I have not heard of any meaningful explanation other than the weather of why these indicative ranges would have to be changed so materially. Although there may be more violent weather events, we expect the weather to become milder and less severe in our part of the world. Perhaps the Minister can enlighten us.
It is vital to know what a Secretary of State can count towards a given target or range of targets. I am sure that the Minister can clarify the relationship between banking and borrowing and indicative annual ranges, and I would appreciate a detailed explanation. I do not move this amendment to undermine the evident benefits of having a banking and borrowing system, because I fully accept that that is a sensible thing for any Government to have in reserve. I know that the necessity for such a facility is already reflected in the Kyoto protocol, and for some existing national level cap-and-trade schemes, such as the US acid rain scheme, which is mentioned in the Stern report. I also appreciate the importance of banking and borrowing with regard to the carbon price and the cost of mitigation, and I understand the importance of having a carry-back facility in case of adverse weather or other unforeseen circumstances. Notwithstanding those issues, I wish to probe the Minister for more detail about the relationship between the breadth of the indicative annual ranges and the similar breadth of the carry-back facility.