Clause 19
Energy Bill
12:00 pm
Malcolm Wicks (Minister of State (Energy), Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform; Croydon North, Labour)
Clearly, as this debate shows, the licence is a key means of ensuring that the environmental impacts of the carbon dioxide stores are minimised. That, combined with the fact that this is an emerging industry in which technical and regulatory experience is still evolving, means that a degree of flexibility in prescribing and modifying licence terms must be retained. For example, much of the basis of the initial licensing of a store will be predictive modelling of the behaviour of carbon dioxide in natural geological formations. If those models prove to be inaccurate, the regulatory authority may need to modify the licence. I mentioned that we know a little about the behaviour of CO2 through the Sleipner project in Norway, but it is early days scientifically.
The draft EU directive on carbon dioxide storage also requires the regulatory authority to have the power to review and, where necessary, modify the licence. Existing offshore licensing arrangements contain similar provisions, for example, licences issued under part 2 of the Food and Environmental Protection Act 1985 include the right of the regulatory authority to attach additional conditions, where there is a risk of adverse environmental impacts.
I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern, because someone signs a licence and they need some certainty, but I hope that he will also understand that in this new territory, when we are on the frontiers of a new science, a new engineering and new technology, some flexibility is required. I assure him, as I assured his colleague the hon. Member for Wealden, that consultation is important in this area and will be standard.