What steps he is taking to reduce levels of air pollution; and if he will make a statement.

What steps he is taking to reduce levels of air pollution; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the marine environment of the exemption of biodegradable plastic bags and paper bags from his single-use plastic bag charging policy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the marine environment of the exemption of biodegradable plastic bags and paper bags from his single-use plastic bag charging policy.

My Lords, this subject may be familiar to the cognoscenti because it has been before this House in Committee and was discussed in the Commons. I am bringing the amendment back because it is an issue that the Government will have to face up to at some point, whether in...

My Lords, this subject may be familiar to the cognoscenti because it has been before this House in Committee and was discussed in the Commons. I am bringing the amendment back because it is an issue that the Government will have to face up to at some point, whether in...

Mrs Brooke, it is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon. I should like to put on the record that I apologise to you for not being here at the start of the debate. Through you, Mrs Brooke, I particularly wish to apologise to the Chairman of...

Mrs Brooke, it is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon. I should like to put on the record that I apologise to you for not being here at the start of the debate. Through you, Mrs Brooke, I particularly wish to apologise to the Chairman of...

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Brooke, and to take part in this debate today. Reference has been made to the number of Members

present, but I am sure all colleagues here will believe that it is quality and not quantity that counts. The quality...

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Brooke, and to take part in this debate today. Reference has been made to the number of Members

present, but I am sure all colleagues here will believe that it is quality and not quantity that counts. The quality...

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to provide support to the Gaza aquifer to enable it to recover from pollution and damage caused by over-pumping.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to provide support to the Gaza aquifer to enable it to recover from pollution and damage caused by over-pumping.

My Lords, I declare my interests, recorded in the register, in a land company and as a trustee of the British Lung Foundation.

I have, at my own cost, visited Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is widely known as the heart of “Frackistan”—a place where shale gas extraction is...

My Lords, I declare my interests, recorded in the register, in a land company and as a trustee of the British Lung Foundation.

I have, at my own cost, visited Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is widely known as the heart of “Frackistan”—a place where shale gas extraction is...

My Lords, I congratulate most warmly my noble friend Lord Borwick on securing this debate on a very important subject, and on the contribution that he has just made in opening the debate, which has covered all the ground that needs to be covered.

Although I am a member of the...

My Lords, I congratulate most warmly my noble friend Lord Borwick on securing this debate on a very important subject, and on the contribution that he has just made in opening the debate, which has covered all the ground that needs to be covered.

Although I am a member of the...

My Lords, I, too, thank my noble friend Lord Borwick for introducing the debate, which has all sorts of strong international, let alone national, relevance at present—Ukraine has already been mentioned.

It is not often that I would almost entirely agree with a report from the Centre for Policy Studies. It...

My Lords, I, too, thank my noble friend Lord Borwick for introducing the debate, which has all sorts of strong international, let alone national, relevance at present—Ukraine has already been mentioned.

It is not often that I would almost entirely agree with a report from the Centre for Policy Studies. It...

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Borwick for introducing this important debate. I must say that I was delighted to hear the speech of the noble Lord, Lord Teverson. There is clearly hope on the left wing of the coalition, so I recommend to the noble Lord more...

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Borwick for introducing this important debate. I must say that I was delighted to hear the speech of the noble Lord, Lord Teverson. There is clearly hope on the left wing of the coalition, so I recommend to the noble Lord more...

My noble friend is right about the relative population densities in the United States and United Kingdom, but in fact parts of the United States have a very high population density, and fracking has been allowed there and gone very successfully. High density of population does not matter. Even in...

My noble friend is right about the relative population densities in the United States and United Kingdom, but in fact parts of the United States have a very high population density, and fracking has been allowed there and gone very successfully. High density of population does not matter. Even in...

My noble friend has just completed my paragraph for me. That is exactly what I was going to say. Despite the high density of population, it can be done and has been done very successfully. It is not surprising that when you live in an area where houses are expensive,...

My noble friend has just completed my paragraph for me. That is exactly what I was going to say. Despite the high density of population, it can be done and has been done very successfully. It is not surprising that when you live in an area where houses are expensive,...

Perhaps I may conclude because I allowed for interruptions. There has been a recent report, Are We Fit to Frack?. The reason these so-called wildlife bodies do not like fracking is that there might be cracks in the pipework. That is what regulation is about. Those people drive cars, which...

Perhaps I may conclude because I allowed for interruptions. There has been a recent report, Are We Fit to Frack?. The reason these so-called wildlife bodies do not like fracking is that there might be cracks in the pipework. That is what regulation is about. Those people drive cars, which...

My Lords, I declare my interests in various forms of energy as detailed in the register, especially in coal. I congratulate my noble friend Lord Borwick on this extremely timely debate. As he probably knew, today is the 65th birthday of fracking. Through the wonders of Twitter, I found out...

My Lords, I declare my interests in various forms of energy as detailed in the register, especially in coal. I congratulate my noble friend Lord Borwick on this extremely timely debate. As he probably knew, today is the 65th birthday of fracking. Through the wonders of Twitter, I found out...

My Lords, I speak as a politician but also as a scientist, albeit in a slightly more esoteric area of science. I congratulate

the noble Lord, Lord Borwick, on securing this debate. It has not done anything for my blood pressure. I am so constrained by time that I cannot...

My Lords, I speak as a politician but also as a scientist, albeit in a slightly more esoteric area of science. I congratulate

the noble Lord, Lord Borwick, on securing this debate. It has not done anything for my blood pressure. I am so constrained by time that I cannot...

My Lords, what an interesting debate we have had. I start by addressing the question put to us: should every serious environmentalist now favour fracking? I have read the report and found it very interesting, but I was left with an overriding impression that it was an excellent report in...

My Lords, what an interesting debate we have had. I start by addressing the question put to us: should every serious environmentalist now favour fracking? I have read the report and found it very interesting, but I was left with an overriding impression that it was an excellent report in...

I am still not quite clear what the position is of the Labour Opposition on the development of resources of shale gas.

I am still not quite clear what the position is of the Labour Opposition on the development of resources of shale gas.

If the noble Lord had given me a moment, I was going to come on to that. We have a very clear position: it has a role to play but we need a seasoned, mature and rational debate about that role. There is no point in overhyping it and claiming...

If the noble Lord had given me a moment, I was going to come on to that. We have a very clear position: it has a role to play but we need a seasoned, mature and rational debate about that role. There is no point in overhyping it and claiming...

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Borwick for the measured and informed way in which he introduced the debate. He made a clear and eloquent case for the importance of shale gas development, including on why those who combat man-made climate change should support it.

Gas is a critical...

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Borwick for the measured and informed way in which he introduced the debate. He made a clear and eloquent case for the importance of shale gas development, including on why those who combat man-made climate change should support it.

Gas is a critical...

I never said anything of the sort, as my noble friend should recall. I said we need rigorous regulation, but it must be clear and as speedy as the rigour allows.

I never said anything of the sort, as my noble friend should recall. I said we need rigorous regulation, but it must be clear and as speedy as the rigour allows.