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Climate Change: Copenhagen Conference

The noble Lord mentions China, but China, as part of the process leading to Copenhagen, announced policies such as energy-intensity targets in the current five-year plans and 2020 targets for renewable and nuclear power. We estimate that those will reduce emissions by around 10 per cent against business-as-usual projections. They also show that China is embarked on a pathway towards a low-carbon economy. That is happening and it is inevitable. It would be foolish in the extreme suddenly to say, "We are going to stop. We will reverse our policies and move to a high-carbon economy". It is very foolish to think that a high-carbon economy will, long term, be low-cost to this country. It will not.