Clause 8
Energy Bill
2:15 pm
Martin Horwood (Shadow Minister (Environment), Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; Cheltenham, Liberal Democrat)
I do not think this quite tackles the issue. Over a long time, with the way that companies shift, change, merge and sell parts of themselves, it is almost inevitably going to be a different company. Could companies exploit this clause or regulations relating to it as a giant loophole to evade liability for some environmental consequences which might genuinely not have been foreseen but for which they should be responsible—or someone should? There is a big question mark over who is liable 20 years down the line.