Clause 19
Finance Bill
2:15 pm
David Gauke (Shadow Minister, Treasury; South West Hertfordshire, Conservative)
Exactly. You assessed the mood of the Committee as well as the appropriate requirements of the circumstances, Sir Nicholas.
My point is that the European Union’s emissions trading scheme has received a great deal of criticism. Some say that it has been ineffective in reducing carbon emissions, that it set carbon at the wrong price and that it has been used too easily. This is an important point for the development of the Government’s own carbon reduction trading scheme. How does the Government see the EU ETS? Does the Minister believe that the criticisms that it is deeply flawed are fair and accurate? If so, what will she do about it? I appreciate that this is not the time for a detailed debate on the matter, but in formulating the regulations under clause 19, how will the Government avoid some of the difficulties? How will the Minister distinguish between what the UK will do and what has happened under the EU to ensure that we are not left with an ineffective scheme that imposes a bureaucratic burden but does nothing to reduce carbon emissions?