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Energy Bill

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for St. Albans (Anne Main). We do not always agree, but I warmed to her defence of the green belt and agreed with it. She is exactly right, too, about utilising used cooking oil for biodiesel. As she said, I have raised the issue, and I was pleased that the Under-Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change agreed to meet my constituents and me. We all look forward to positive announcements, if not today, then perhaps in the pre-Budget report on Wednesday. We live in hope. Liberal Democrats have given this limited Bill a broad welcome. The revisions to Ofgem's remit to take account of environmental considerations are long overdue, as is a more consistent framework for social tariffs. Millions endure fuel poverty, and social tariffs are patchily applied by private sector companies. Liberal Democrats have called for a more uniform framework ever since, in the case of my right hon. Friend the Member for Gordon (Malcolm Bruce), the time of the former Prime Minister Mrs. Thatcher, so measures to tackle the problem more consistently are long overdue. The measures to promote carbon capture and storage are welcome, too. CCS is a critical technology if we are to achieve our aims in tackling climate change, and while we—I hope—make the transition to a more renewable energy economy in the long-term future, we need transition technologies. I certainly support CCS, rather than nuclear power, as a means of keeping the lights on. I was astonished by the speeches by Conservative Members, which featured consistent attacks on renewable energy, particularly wind energy, and consistent support for nuclear power.