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Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Bill

That sounds like a very attractive proposition. Perhaps we could consider it through further amendments to the Bill. I am happy to say, as I am sure Madam Deputy Speaker will confirm, that if by some mischance we do not finish our deliberations on the Bill by the end of today, there will be many opportunities for further amendments to be made. I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s suggestion. He is helping us suggest amendments to his own Bill, upon which we can deliberate on other Fridays—Fridays, plural. The point that I am making relates strictly to the wording of new clause 3, ““each calendar year””. I am sorry to say this to my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch, but I am querying the efficacy, benefit and value added of annual reports on movements in the huge issues that confront us, of the kind that new clause 3 covers. The amount of energy consumed could be affected by alterations in climate. If we had a very cold winter—that seems virtually impossible, given the claims about global warming, but let us imagine that we had the odd cold winter or a drop in temperature, rather than the much promised global warming, to which I look forward very much, because it will benefit many parts of the world and many aspects of our lives—given the variations in climate, the consumption of energy in the United Kingdom would vary from one year to another. What conclusions are we expected to draw from that? Will we panic, change our policies and change direction as a result of this or that movement, on a yearly basis? To answer the rather tongue in cheek but helpful suggestion from the promoter of the Bill, triennial or quinquennial reports might be more relevant, in order that we could begin to see the development of trends in energy matters, as related to climate matters. That would be of more value. I want to look again at the Bill in the context of the hon. Gentleman’s helpful suggestion, to see whether we can work up some further amendments that would reflect that.