Clause 43
Climate Change Bill [Lords]
1:15 pm
Phil Woolas (Minister of State (Environment), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Oldham East and Saddleworth, Labour)
I see the hon. Gentleman’s point. It would be a question not of preference, but of a scheme’s operability. For the sake of argument, let us say that one established a scheme for bus companies to trade carbon credits and that a European bus trading scheme—for example, a sectoral scheme—was also in place. Those two schemes would have a relationship through, for example, independent auditing and buying and selling. At any one time, the price of carbon in the different scheme might be different.
If I interpreted the hon. Gentleman’s question correctly, he is worried that a Scottish bus carbon trading scheme, for example, might undermine the European ETS, if not set up correctly. That would not be possible because, as we were reminded by the hon. Member for Northavon, the architecture of the European ETS is based on units, not on countries. It would not be subservient any more or less than the pound in Scotland is subservient to the euro.