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Department of Energy and Climate Change

My Lords, I welcome those comments and certainly agree that is a hugely challenging target. I shall not trade figures with the noble Lord but he is right to suggest that it will be very tough indeed. I also accept that dealing with climate change can work only if there is international agreement. Given our wish, which I believe is shared by the whole House, that this country should take a lead, we have to be a good example. That means having a tough target and the determination to reach it. The noble Lord made an important point about feed-in tariffs and the pricing structure. We are considering them at the moment and are deciding how to take forward the pledge made by my right honourable friend in the other place. The noble Lord speaks with huge authority and experience about different balances of view within a department. I take what he said to heart. We should not be frightened of policy tensions within government. Simply moving the deckchairs—moving a division from one department to another—does not solve problems overnight, but it can lead to greater focus, a determination to ensure that the twin issues of energy and climate change are dealt with together, dealing with some of the tensions and, in the end, ensuring that we reach the right policy decisions. However, with all the doubts that can always be expressed about structural changes, it is clear that this is the right path to go down. It has huge potential, and it is a huge privilege for me to serve in the department.