Great British Energy Bill

Debate between Lord Bruce of Bennachie and Earl of Erroll

Report stage
Tuesday 11th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Erroll (CB)]

My Lords, people are talking a lot about carbon dioxide, and I hugely support carbon capture and utilisation. We have large plants manufacturing carbon dioxide deliberately. For instance, it is used for manufacturing fertiliser and in fire extinguishers—noble Lords may well have some in their house, and there are certainly some around Parliament. The food industry uses a whole lot of it, partly for carbonated drinks and also for refrigeration and some of the manufacturing processes. It is used for freezing and for transporting organs and such things in dry ice, which your Lordships have probably all heard of. It is used in greenhouses for bringing on the ripening of various things, and in the manufacture of a lot of chemicals. It has many industrial uses, and it is used in curing concrete. It is used for lots of things, so capturing it and using it would be very sensible, and we might manufacture slightly less of it.

[Lord Bruce of Bennachie (LD)]

My Lords, I rise very briefly to support the amendment in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, but also to comment on the noble Baroness, Lady Liddell. I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Young, that we need to get it right quickly or we cannot go there, but I hope we can go there. I was very encouraged that the Secretary of State said he might now prioritise the Acorn Project, the cluster in Scotland. That will be very welcome news for a very beleaguered Scottish industry that feels, frankly, that the Government are against it, and this would at least be a positive in the other direction.

On the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, and the comments of the noble Lord. Lord Teverson, the point has been made that the number of people is quite significant, but, if you look at the total across the UK, it is a relatively small percentage. The reality, however, is that, in some parts of the country, a very large percentage of people are genuinely concerned about what the future will hold. The point about Northern Ireland is the most powerful one. I thank the Minister very much for the meeting that he had with us, but what was discussed then was that the Irish Government seem to be on the verge of going down exactly the route that the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, is recommending. That would clearly be an all-Ireland solution for the north of Ireland, but it would be rather odd if the UK could not find a way of running something similar at the same time.

I have just one other comment. The Minister gave me the impression that the priority for the Government was to get as many heat pumps installed as possible. I completely support that, but the reality, as has already been said, is that quite a lot of the houses are not actually suitable for heat pumps. I do not think there is a conflict here, but the point I would like to make to the Minister is: by all means promote heat pumps as much as you can, but recognise that some parts of the country need a solution fairly urgently, and heat pumps may not be the answer. So the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, has much to commend it and I hope the Government can give a positive response to it.