Baroness Featherstone: But that is voluntary. Do the Government agree with big investors in the UK economy such as Aviva that climate disclosures should now be mandatory, to set the pace for innovation and ensure that the UK secures competitive advantage amid the global race to green the financial system?
Baroness Featherstone: My Lords, sadly, I have to declare an interest. Some noble Lords will know that my nephew died; he was a victim of the contaminated blood scandal. Concerns have been voiced over the timing of this inquiry, and I want some assurances from the noble Lord. He mentioned the Haemophilia Society, but I do not know how aware he is of some disquiet and concern among the haemophiliac community about...
Baroness Featherstone: My Lords, “thank you, but” is an excellent description of this debate. Some in your Lordships’ House may remember a very old radio programme called “Beyond Our Ken”, which went on to become “Round the Horne”. One of the characters was named Fallowfield and his response to any question was, “Well, I think the answer lies in the soil”. He was right—who knew? The bulk of my...
Baroness Featherstone: My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lord Teverson on securing this debate. I usually stand here to warn that the Government are not going far enough or fast enough—they are not—to deliver our emission reductions commitments from the Paris Agreement and the Climate Change Act. However, today’s debate is really about the economic opportunities of the low-carbon economy and the...
Baroness Featherstone: My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lady Walmsley on securing this very important debate. It has been a very good debate, ranging widely across the multifarious health impacts of climate change, both globally and domestically. My noble friend and many noble Lords across the House referred to the Lancet Countdown report, which is the basis for this debate. Its conclusions were supported...
Baroness Featherstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the appropriateness of membership of the Energy Union after Brexit.
Baroness Featherstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure regulatory alignment in the energy market after Brexit.
Baroness Featherstone: My Lords, obviously, everyone is agreeing that carbon capture and storage is absolutely vital to an emissions reduction programme, but the certainty that business had and its faith in the Government was shot to pieces by the removal of the manifesto pledge for the £1 billion and its replacement with £100 million. What will the Government do to restore confidence and certainty to green...
Baroness Featherstone: My Lords, poor housing standards are the main cause of high energy bills. Could the Minister explain the thinking behind getting rid of the zero carbon homes standard?
Baroness Featherstone: I just want to correct the noble Baroness. I do not think I said “the worst-off”; I referred to those who did not deserve it.
Baroness Featherstone: My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Deben, made some of the points I intended to make although he is somewhat more forgiving than me. I want to put on record concerns about the exemption for the eligible energy-intensive industries from a proportion of the indirect policy costs of the renewables obligation scheme. Obviously, I can understand why it seems desirable to remove any cost to our...
Baroness Featherstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of asset closures the UK gas market could withstand without affecting energy prices or security of supply.
Baroness Featherstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the continuity in operations of UK interconnectors with continental Europe under the current regulatory framework.
Baroness Featherstone: My Lords, first, I congratulate my noble friend Lady Smith on bringing this important debate to the Floor of this House. It is a pleasure to follow the right reverend Prelate, and I too will speak on climate change in due course. I first came to this House to stand at the Bar to listen to the debate on same-sex marriage, and I believe that, unlike some parts of our population, this House is...
Baroness Featherstone: I suggest that the Government follow Scotland’s example and ban fracking, in which case there would be no policing costs in this regard. Does the Minister agree?
Baroness Featherstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to develop a strategy to ensure future continuity on network charging in relation to electricity storage; and if so, how.
Baroness Featherstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the specific financial interests which are referred to in the declaration of interest by Professor Dieter Helm published on 6 August in relation to the cost of energy review.
Baroness Featherstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what definition of electricity storage they intend to use in the provision of storage licences.
Baroness Featherstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to remove the double charging of consumption levies in relation to storage facilities.
