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Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Bill

We have had some supportive and positive interventions from the hon. Members for South-West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) and for Salisbury (Robert Key), and an important point was made by the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood (Mr. Hurd) about the cost of setting up micro-generation. My hon. Friend the Member for East Surrey (Mr. Ainsworth) also made an important point about the Government framework. What a joy it has been for the second time this week to have so much consensus on both sides in the House. I hope that the Minister will refer at some stage to the gap in funding for the Clear Skies project, to which I shall return later. We heard a good speech from my hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Mr. Hollobone), who emphasised the importance of the issue and the fact that the Bill enables people to go out and help themselves, which is an important principle. My hon. Friend the Member for Braintree (Mr. Newmark) was very supportive, and spoke about young people and the success generated by local initiative. My hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean (Mr. Harper), who was also supportive of the Bill, made a considerable contribution. He spoke about economics and his concerns about the potential total energy capacity from micro-generation, which was most helpful, and the Government’s favouritism for wind energy, which is a concern across the country. He also asked whether the Prime Minister would announce his failures, about which we must be sceptical. As for bringing him to the House to explain one of his party’s policies, that is something that he does not currently have to do. All in all, there were some extremely helpful and positive contributions from Conservative Members, and some questions which I hope that the Minister will answer. Conservatives have always supported promoting the environment, since Rio in 1992. We welcome proposals designed to improve the environment, and we welcome much of this private Member’s Bill. I am grateful that these matters are being discussed on the Floor of the House. The Bill contains some beneficial measures to help combat climate change. Clause 2 makes provision for the Prime Minister to make an annual report. That will help with transparency and Government accountability. Back in 2000, the Prime Minister announced,"““the greatest threat to our environment today is climate change.””" In 2004, he remarked:"““Our effect on the environment, and in particular on climate change, is large and growing.””" This year, he used his presidency of the G8 to place climate change at the forefront of the agenda. At the Labour party conference in September, we heard the Prime Minister again pledging to formulate an energy policy some time next year. There has been lots of talk, but not much effective action. Despite the Sustainable Energy Act 2003, the Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003 and the energy White Paper of February 2003, carbon dioxide, pre-eminent among greenhouse gases, has increased since 1997 by 4.7 per cent. Since the introduction in 2001of the climate change levy, which was designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we have seen greenhouse gas emissions increase. The Kyoto protocol requires us to ensure that our greenhouse gas emissions are 12.5 per cent. below 1990 levels. Considering that the Prime Minister is the Head of Government, his high profile and the importance that he attaches to climate change, it is only right and proper that he should present to the House the annual report on greenhouse gas emissions and his Government’s policy. Clause 2 will make it easier for Parliament to scrutinise the Government, and serve to make the Government more transparent and the Prime Minister more accountable to Parliament. As I said a few moments ago, the Prime Minister currently has no obligation to explain policies to the House. The hon. Member for Edinburgh, North and Leith (Mark Lazarowicz) has sensibly included provisions for micro-generation, which is a technology that Conservative Members would like to see advanced. Section 82(1)(a) of the Energy Act 2004 states:"““The Secretary of State must prepare a strategy for the promotion of microgeneration in Great Britain””," and we need to wait 18 months for this strategy to appear. The Government have already had eight years—[Interruption.]