---

Energy Bill

I have great respect for the hon. Gentleman, but there is a fundamental difference here. We are talking about policies that will help to drive investment decisions, which need to be made in a relatively short period. The people who are making them need to know the long-term scenario in which they are investing and the environmental and financial criteria that will be relevant. If there is no clarity, persuading people in boardrooms in Madrid and Essen will become that much more difficult. What we seek to do—we have broad cross-party agreement on this—is find a way to provide that certainty but at the same time help to deliver on the low-carbon commitments on which we all agree.