Lord Browne of Madingley: My Lords, I too pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Bragg, for securing this debate. I refer the House to my interests as set out in the register, specifically my chairmanship of the Courtauld Institute, my co-chairmanship of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology and my membership of the board of the Royal Opera House. I will make four short points. First, the arts do not...
Lord Browne of Madingley: My Lords, I speak for Clause 47. I have not spoken on the Bill to date but I have followed its progress closely because I was the author of the last review of higher education funding and student finance, commonly referred to as the Browne review. It looked at three pillars of the system: quality, participation and sustainability. Its recommendations were conceived as part of a holistic...
Lord Browne of Madingley: My Lords, I welcome this thorough report on the referendum and EU reform. In particular, I wish to comment on its conclusion that the Government should set out a positive, inclusive vision of the UK’s role in a reformed EU. As a businessman, I have long been convinced of the economic benefits of being part of the EU’s single market. In leaving the EU, we deny ourselves not only access to...
Lord Browne of Madingley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the action they have taken on gender and race, what efforts they are making to improve the representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people on corporate boards in the United Kingdom.
Lord Browne of Madingley: My Lords, I declare one relevant interest: my position as the Government’s lead independent non-executive board member, a role that provides the context for my brief remarks today. When the Prime Minister appointed me and 60 other independent non-executive directors, he asked us to make the Government more businesslike and to help equip them with the skills needed to deliver government...
Lord Browne of Madingley: My Lords, I declare my very extensive financial and non-financial interests in the energy sector, which are all set out in the Register of Lords’ Interests. I particularly draw your Lordships’ attention to my position as partner and managing director at Riverstone Holdings, which manages several energy-focused private investment funds with stakes in a range of UK-based and international...
Lord Browne of Madingley: My Lords, to my mind, the evidence is quite clear. Marriage is a human construct and the romantic idea of marriage as a beacon of stability does not stand up to scrutiny. Rather, as views about what is socially acceptable have changed, so have the boundaries and parameters of marriage. The freedom to marry in the United Kingdom used to be confined to Anglicans. Over the centuries, it has been...
Lord Browne of Madingley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Italy about the prison sentences passed on seven members of the country's National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks for providing "falsely reassuring statements"; and what assessment they have made of that prosecution's impact on the ability and willingness of the international...
Lord Browne of Madingley: My Lords, a little over two months ago, I published a report outlining a sustainable way forward for higher education funding. Our conclusions are now generally well known, and I have expounded upon them in detail in your Lordships' House on a previous occasion. Today, I will speak as directly as I can on the narrower issue of raising tuition charges, but I do not wish to mislead your...
Lord Browne of Madingley: The provision of education has long been the mark of an advanced and civilised society. It provides skills useful to individuals in fashioning a career or a vocation, inculcates a sense of shared heritage and broadens the minds of those who take part. It provides people not just with knowledge today but with the prospect of acquiring knowledge tomorrow by creating a lifelong habit for...
Lord Browne of Madingley: My Lords, for many observers, the Copenhagen accord, signed at last month's climate conference, is a failure. Targets for global emissions are conspicuously absent, and while national targets are included, they are set only on a voluntary basis. The failure to acknowledge an ongoing process for converting the accord into a legally binding treaty is disappointing. But despite falling short in...
Lord Browne of Madingley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether further countries will sign the Copenhagen Accord; and whether they have taken steps to encourage other nations to sign up before the 31 January deadline for submission of emission-reduction plans.
Lord Browne of Madingley: My Lords, I thank everyone who has contributed to the debate. I had hoped that this would be an opportunity to take the debate forward, to keep the subject at the centre of society and to think of the global opportunities, not just the threats. In those matters, I was not disappointed. I thank the Minister for his response. This Government have done a lot to promote the issue of climate...
Lord Browne of Madingley: My Lords, I declare my interests. I am managing partner and managing director of Riverstone Holdings. This manages several energy-focused private investment funds, which hold stakes in two UK companies. I am also chairman of the Accenture Global Energy Board, a member of the advisory board of Sustainable Forestry Management Limited and a member of the climate change advisory board of Deutsche...
Lord Browne of Madingley: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they support lifting the ban on forest carbon credits in the European emissions trading system.
Lord Browne of Madingley: My Lords, I begin by declaring an interest as the chief executive of BP. For most of the past decade, the question has been whether the problem of climate change actually exists. There is now a very broad consensus, expressed most clearly in the report that was produced before the July summit of the G8 by the scientific academies of all those nations, including the Royal Society. The...
Lord Browne of Madingley: My Lords, I must first declare an interest as chief executive of BP—a company based in Britain which earns its living from producing and trading oil around the world. This morning the price of a barrel of crude oil was $51. In real terms that is nearly double the price of just two years ago, but still much less than half the peak that was reached in November 1979. So why has the price risen...
Lord Browne of Madingley: My Lords, I am indebted to the noble Lord, Lord Dearing, for initiating this debate. This is an important subject. I shall concentrate on universities. My direct knowledge is of Cambridge and of Stanford in the United States, but I speak as the chief executive of a company which employs more than 50,000 graduates world-wide. From that perspective, no one can doubt the value of a university...
Lord Browne of Madingley: My Lords, I, too, believe that we owe a great debt to the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, for initiating this debate. Climate change is a crucial subject and this is a critical moment at which to examine the progress being made, here and internationally. I am personally indebted to the noble Lord because the debate gives me the opportunity to speak in your Lordships' House for the first time. I am...
