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Scottish Parliament (Referendum) Bill [HL]
Lord Palmer: My Lords, I beg to introduce a Bill to make provision for the holding of a referendum in Scotland on whether the Scottish Parliament should continue to exist or be abolished. I beg to move that this Bill be now read a first time.
Moved, That the Bill be now read a first time.—(Lord Palmer.)
On Question, Bill read a first time, and to be printed.
Kyoto Protocol
3.40 p.m.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty): My Lords, with the leave of the House, I shall now repeat a Statement made in another place by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Statement is as follows:
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"Following agreement at the European Community Environment Council on Monday, I am very pleased to announce that the Government have today laid the Kyoto Protocol before both Houses of Parliament. This significant step begins the formal process of UK ratification of this hugely important protocol.
"This House is aware of the leading role that the Government have always played in the fight against climate change and, in particular, the pivotal role played by my right honourable friends the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for the Environment in the original negotiations on the protocol in Kyoto. We have maintained that lead in subsequent negotiations and we are making strong progress with implementing a strategic and innovative programme of action to reduce the UK's greenhouse gas emissions. I firmly believe that the UK, as well as the rest of world, has much to gain from meeting the challenge of climate change head-on.
"The deal that I helped to secure, first in Bonn and then in Marrakesh last year, was the latest in a series of major political achievements and paved the way for ratification. Since then, the EU has set an aim for the Kyoto Protocol to enter into force in time for the World Summit on Sustainable Development at the end of August. The summit will mark the 10th anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit, which set up the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in the first place. Although we do
- not expect or wish climate change as such to feature prominently on the summit's agenda, entry into force of the protocol before it takes place will demonstrate beyond doubt the world's commitment to taking its environmental responsibilities seriously.
"The Environment Council's agreement on Monday to the Council Decision on European Community ratification and to the EU "bubble" was a significant milestone. This needed to happen first, so that the reduction targets agreed politically by each member state in 1998 became legally fixed. I am delighted with the outcome of the Council meeting which followed detailed and, at times, sensitive negotiations. It means that all member states are now able to complete their own national ratification procedures, and that the EC and its member states will be the first of the key developed countries to ratify the protocol.
"This Government are certainly wasting no time in ensuring that the UK ratifies the protocol as soon as possible. Today's event marks the start of our process. The protocol will be before Parliament for the next 21 sitting days. At the end of this period, my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary will sign the UK's instrument of ratification. For legal and presentational reasons, the UK will deposit its instrument with the UN Depository at same time as the European Community and other member states. We are aiming to do this by June at the latest.
"UK ratification of the Kyoto Protocol sends an important message to the world that we are committed to the protocol and to tackling climate change. It reaffirms the Government's pledge to meet their environmental objectives. And it meets our manifesto commitment to provide leadership abroad and to work for international agreement on climate change.
"I hope that countries not yet committed to ratifying will follow the EU's lead. The House will be aware that the US has recently announced proposals for domestic action to tackle climate change. We welcome the fact that President Bush accepts climate change as a serious problem and has increased support for climate science and for climate-friendly innovation. However, our analysis of his proposals suggests that US greenhouse gas emissions will be around 25 per cent higher in 2010 than in 1990. This contrasts quite starkly with the 7 per cent reduction to which the US had originally agreed under Kyoto. We continue to believe that the Kyoto Protocol represents the only workable option for the international community to take forward serious action on climate change, and we hope that the US will re-engage with this process in the future. It is of course extremely important that we maintain a constructive dialogue with the US on climate change and we will seek to establish a process through which this can be achieved.
"UK ratification of the protocol will mean that we become legally bound by the target to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to 12.5 per cent below
- 1990 levels by 2008-12. The UK's climate change programme sets out a range of policies that could reduce emissions by 23 per cent by 2010, well in excess of our Kyoto target and setting us in good stead for future reductions. The programme, therefore, also addresses the Government's ambitious domestic goal to cut carbon dioxide emissions to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2010.
"Our climate change programme is providing a strategic focus for action. It is stimulating positive action by UK businesses, local government and other organisations. It is encouraging longer-term changes and a move towards a low carbon economy. And it is implementing a series of innovative and creative policies to ensure that the UK cuts its emissions in a flexible and cost-effective way.
"Let me run through the key policies in the programme. First, we have established the world's first economy-wide emissions trading scheme, backed by a government incentive of £215 million over five years. The scheme is due to "go live" early next month and is one of our major priorities. Emissions trading is a cost-effective way of making a low carbon future a reality, and by pioneering this scheme, we intend the City of London to become the world centre for emissions trading.
"We have set a target to provide 10 per cent of the UK's electricity from renewable sources of energy by 2010, backed up by government funding of at least £250 million over the next three years. We also have a target to at least double the UK capacity of combined heat and power by 2010. We will be publishing our draft CHP strategy shortly, with a range of measures to achieve the target.
"We have put in place the climate change levy package that will help to fund measures to promote better energy efficiency in business. We established the Carbon Trust which will recycle around £100 million of climate change levy receipts to boost the take-up of cost-effective, low carbon technologies.
"There are a range of programmes and schemes to promote better energy efficiency in the domestic sector. And at European Union level, we secured voluntary agreements with car manufacturers to improve fuel efficiency by at least 25 per cent, backed up by changes to vehicle excise duty and company car tax to encourage more fuel efficient, low-emission cars.
"Finally, the Government's 10 Year Plan for Transport will address projected emissions growth in this key sector.
"The programme also looks at what we might need to do to adapt to the effects of climate change in the UK. The Government are taking early action to identify adaptation priorities and we are supporting the introduction of adaptation strategies on the ground through the UK Climate Impacts Programme.
"In addition, the programme begins to put in place policies to reduce emissions in the longer term—beyond 2012. We know that Kyoto, while
- important in itself, is only a first step, and that much deeper cuts in emissions will be needed if we are to avoid dangerous climate change. The Government are determined to continue towards a low carbon economy in a way that benefits both the environment and UK industry. This is one reason why we commissioned the recent PIU energy report that we are now considering, and to which we will respond later this year.
"I would like to finish by re-stating the Government's belief that meeting climate change targets will not only be good for the environment, but also presents new opportunities for businesses to improve energy efficiency, to cut costs and to get ahead of their international competitors by developing cleaner technologies and moving into new markets. It presents new job opportunities for people living and working in the UK. And it offers more choice for the consumer. We want to make sure that the UK makes the most it possibly can of these opportunities, as well as making a strong and determined contribution to the global fight against climate change. Ratifying the Kyoto Protocol is one of the most important steps on that road".
3.49 p.m.
Baroness Byford: My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the Statement made in another place. We welcome the progress made by the EU towards ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, but there is much more to do. The UK's fight against climate change, initiated some 10 years ago in Rio by John Major and taken further by my noble friend Lord Gummer, laid the foundations for the international agreement to tackle climate change.
The Statement today refers to the pivotal role played by the Deputy Prime Minister. But that was not without its difficulties. It was the same Deputy Prime Minister who, back in November 2000, lost his nerve and his cool during negotiations with the French environment Minister, causing her to refer to him as a "male, chauvinistic pig". There has been slow progress since then, but the UK statistics are poor. We are one of the dirtiest countries—98th out of 142—and we have a poor record on recycling. We recycle a paltry 11 per cent compared to Switzerland, Germany and Austria with recycling rates of around 50 per cent. Is the Minister confident that local authorities will meet the government target of 25 per cent by 2005? Will that figure include the extra huge costs that local authorities are currently facing because of the fridge mountain debacle? It is hoped that other countries will ratify and, in particular, that the United States will re-engage with the process. What risk does US exclusion from the process pose to its eventual legal status?
The Government have set a target of providing 10 per cent of the UK's electricity from renewable sources of energy by 2010. Will the Government take
urgent action to implement the recommendation in the energy review and remove the institutional barrier to,
- "the working of the planning system which at present fails to place local concerns within a wider framework of national and regional need"?
Will the Government take into account the emissions from aircraft which heavily pollute our skies? The Statement refers to "deeper cuts". Is this one aspect that the Government are considering?
Does the Minister accept that the Government's failure to put in place a coherent transport policy has led to the queues of traffic that still pollute our air on a daily basis and add to an already critical situation?
Does the Minister take seriously the remarks of the Chief Scientific Adviser who, on radio this morning, called for an increase in the number of nuclear power stations if some of the targets are to be achieved?
Will the Government assure the House that the climate change levy will not damage the competitiveness of UK industry? The energy review to which I referred earlier states that,
- "it would not make any sense for the UK to incur large abatement costs, harming its international competitiveness, if other countries are not doing so".
The whole tone of the Statement is self-congratulatory. However, the Government's ability to achieve their objectives and rational strategies is suspect, particularly in relation to what was the Department of the Environment and MAFF, now the unjoined-up DEFRA, and other government departments.
The PIU report makes clear that, to achieve the objectives set out in the Statement, major institutional changes, including to the planning system, need to be made to deliver the strategy. When do the Government intend to put these changes in motion?
3.53 p.m.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: My Lords, we on these Benches warmly welcome the ratification. We would also welcome an early debate in the House on both the Kyoto Protocol and the Government's objectives for Johannesburg because the two go hand in hand.
I was slightly surprised to hear the noble Baroness on the Conservative Front Bench label the UK as the 98th out of the 142 "dirtiest men in the world". It was under the Conservative government that we first received the label of the "dirtiest man in Europe"—because that is what the measurements were at that time—but no government to date have proved themselves to be firmly behind environmental taxes and the kinds of actions needed to move us forward.
We should certainly debate further the issue of nuclear power. It is easy to say that it is a cleaner technology, but its legacy in terms of expense for future generations is something for which they will not thank us. More than that, it has not proved itself economically in the present generation, although governments find that easy to ignore when searching for an answer to climate change.
At the beginning of the Statement the Minister said that the world has much to gain from meeting the challenge of climate change head-on. That somewhat plays down the issue. The position is that the world has everything to lose if it does not meet that challenge.
The Minister went on to say that the Government would be funding renewables to the tune of £250 million over the next three years. That is only £80 million a year. He did not say whether that money was for research and development or for infrastructure development or both. The west coast of Scotland, if developed properly, has an enormous amount of renewable energy but it desperately needs investment in its infrastructure to bring that energy down to where it is needed. I would welcome the Minister's comments.
Noble Lords will know that my noble friend Lord Ezra has often spoken of the enormous potential of combined heat and power plants. I welcome the fact that the strategy for that will be published shortly. Will the Minister define what "shortly" means, because that policy is certainly in a mess at the moment?
As to the range of programmes and schemes to promote better energy efficiency in the domestic sector, one of the Government's biggest failures to date has been the absence of a change to building regulations and planning policy guidance so that account is taken of simple things such as passive solar gain—big windows that face south. It is not rocket science but it does require firm policies.
Can the Minister comment on the Government's 10-year plan for transport? He says that it will address the issue of projected emissions growth in this key sector. The plan will count for nothing if action does not follow. To date, we have not seen any action which has reduced congestion and we still wait to hear what will happen with the railways. It is a fine Statement, but I hope that action will follow.
3.57 p.m.
Lord Whitty: My Lords, I am grateful for the support of both Opposition Front Benches for the ratification process. It is very important that we should be united across the parties on Kyoto. The noble Baroness, Lady Byford, slightly spoilt it by saying that the Statement was self-congratulatory, but we do, as a country, have something to congratulate ourselves on. As the noble Baroness said, the process started under the previous regime at Rio and we have led the way, not only in the negotiating field but in being on target to meet our Kyoto objectives to a far greater degree than many other countries. Therefore, self-congratulation is appropriate without falling into complacency. We must not be complacent on this front at all.
Both noble Baronesses asked a number of questions. Recycling is certainly an important part of our delivery of aspects of the climate change programme and of other objectives. We believe that local government will play a major part in that delivery and that it is setting itself up so to do. It will receive help from the Government.
The current difficult situation with fridges is outside our assumptions. The help that we have already announced in regard to fridges is over and above the general help we are giving to meet recycling targets. We expect local government itself to have in-put in meeting the recycling general targets. It is to be hoped that the situation with fridges can be surmounted, and we shall focus on meeting those targets over the medium term.
The noble Baroness, Lady Byford, asked about the United States. We all regret the position taken by the United States but, as the Statement indicates, there has been a significant shift. President Bush now recognises that climate change problems exist and he is prepared to fund scientific research and to make general exhortations to United States industry. That is a different position from the one he adopted on taking power, so there is some progress.
There is also considerable progress in US corporate circles and US public opinion. The situation can change, but it is at the moment a major problem not having the United States on board. There is no point in balking that. The US needs to be persuaded to rejoin the process.
As regards the legal status, a US presence is not absolutely essential. The requirement for the protocol to come into force is that 55 nations must sign it, among which must be countries representing 55 per cent of the developed world in terms of emissions. That can be done without the United States— although it does require the signature of some of the other powers which are "teetering" in regard to a decision—of Japan, for example, which is further along the line towards committing itself than it was a few weeks ago, and of Russia, where major decisions will be taken in the next few weeks. Those two nations need to be included if we want to reach the 55 per cent target.
The noble Baroness, Lady Byford, raised important issues relating to the energy review. The Government's response will come shortly, and will include issues relating to planning. She also raised issues on the transport side, as did the noble Baroness, Lady Miller. Clearly, transport is a very important area in which further action is required in order to meet the targets. In relation to aircraft, international agreement will be necessary. At present, it is very difficult for one nation, or even the EU, to take the lead. However, discussions are beginning on aircraft emissions. More substantial are the emissions from motor traffic. The 10-year plan—about which both noble Baronesses were slightly sceptical—is geared very much to reducing congestion on the one hand and emissions per vehicle on the other, as well as transferring some traffic away from the roads and adopting less carbon-intensive systems.
On all those fronts—the 10-year plan for transport; improving the infrastructure; taking other measures to reduce congestion; and, in concert with the corporate sector, changing the basis of fuels and increasing the
fuel efficiency of vehicles that remain dependent on carbon technology—we are making an important contribution. It is particularly important since transport is the one area where emissions are still rising.Nuclear power will be covered in the Government's response to the energy review. It is fairly clear, both from the review and from the Government's announced position hitherto, that the UK does not need new nuclear capacity to meet the Kyoto target. The dilemma for energy policy in that sense is what will happen beyond the 2012 date when there may be a gap and the PIU may make reference to doubling the target for renewables, for example. Others would advocate an increased nuclear role. But there is no need, in order to meet the Kyoto targets, for us to presume any increase in the nuclear component. At present, there are no proposals for additional nuclear capacity. However, both for our own purposes and for world purposes, we wish to retain a capacity in nuclear technology.
The climate change levy is one of the most important of the environmental taxes which the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, regretted that we did not have. It is an important environment tax. It is also one that is geared to improving the ability of British industry to be ahead of the game in developing technology and the production and distribution methods that minimise carbon emissions. That will give British industry a competitive advantage in the medium term, both in terms of the pressures on industry to act quickly and in terms of recycling some of the climate change levy into carbon-saving technology.
The noble Baroness, Lady Miller, referred to renewables. I have stressed their importance, and the importance of CHP on which a study will come shortly. I know that "shortly" can be interpreted as meaning tomorrow. It will not be quite as shortly as that but it will be within a reasonable time.
The noble Baroness also mentioned building regulations. We made significant progress in that area a few months ago. My colleague, Nick Raynsford, announced some significant changes in future building regulations. There is some more work to be done, but that will be an important contribution. The noble Baroness also raised the question of a debate on Kyoto and Johannesburg. That is a matter not for me but for the usual processes.
The noble Baroness, Lady Miller, commented that we have everything to lose if we do not achieve the targets. That is true. The world has a lot to lose if we do not deliver on Kyoto as the first step to delivering climate change. The ratification process at EU level undertaken by this Government and the lead that Britain and the EU have taken will help us to take that first step.
4.5 p.m.
Lord Palmer: My Lords, will the Minister confirm that he believes that the British biofuel industry has a significant contribution to make in meeting the Kyoto objectives?
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