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Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Bill

That raises an important point. We could, and should, equally ask how we would set about formulating a national target? In the light of the different profiles, demographics and geographical locations of the different regions, we are more likely to be able to set sensible targets for microgeneration and its outcomes at regional level than on a national basis. For example, we should be able to make an assessment of the likely efficacy of domestic windmills or solar panels depending on whether they were on the west coast or the east coast, or in the north of the country or the south. That would be more practical than setting a national target. It could also lead to a more focused approach to policy development. There are huge variations in housing in this country. For example, if we compare the north of Scotland with Greater London and the south-east of England, a number of important variations spring immediately to mind. Surely domestic windmill or solar panel installations would be far more practical in scattered rural areas than in dense urban areas containing rows of terraced houses. Establishing targets, measuring them and then drawing the appropriate policy conclusions would be done much better on a regional than on a national basis.