Oil: Changes in Global Markets

Lord Alton of Liverpool Excerpts
Thursday 21st May 2020

(4 years, 6 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Callanan Portrait Lord Callanan
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Our 2050 targets are now legally binding. We are committed to them and do not believe that there is any need to review them. We believe that we can continue with those targets and prioritise economic recovery at the same time; we do not believe that they are mutually exclusive.

Lord Alton of Liverpool Portrait Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB)
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My Lords, as Nigeria, Africa’s biggest country, seeks $7 billion of emergency funding from the IMF to offset the crash in oil prices—from which Nigeria receives 70% of its revenue—what assessment have we made of the effects of the crash on the economy and social cohesion of Nigeria and of how we might use some of the £800,000 which the UK gives Nigeria every day in overseas aid to help it address the deep-seated structural problems and reliance on oil exposed by Covid-19?

Lord Callanan Portrait Lord Callanan
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The noble Lord makes an extremely good and valid point. The Foreign Office and the Department for International Development will be closely monitoring the situation. We have a close affinity with people in Nigeria and we will do all that we can to help them; he will be aware of our very large aid budget in that country.