Rosebank Oil Field
Debate between Lord Deben and Baroness Curran(1 week, 1 day ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Curran (Lab)
I understand the process and I understand politics. I understand why the noble Lord is making that point. But I have to say that it is quasi-judicial, and I can absolutely guarantee, because I know the Energy Secretary very well, that she has not made the decision, she will make the decision on the facts, and the Government will stand by that decision.
Lord Deben (Con)
My Lords, does the Minister accept that this process occurred under previous Conservative governments and that that really is not important in this discussion? She is quite right, of course, to say that the Secretary of State will make the decision in her own time, exactly as a previous Conservative Secretary of State would do. All I would say to her is that I hope the Secretary of State realises how important it is for Britain not to encourage other people to extend the exploitation of oil, because we are fighting a battle against climate change which is crucially important for our children and grandchildren.
Baroness Curran (Lab)
I never thought I would ever find myself saying this, but I have listened to the noble Lord’s speeches on climate change and have had a very positive response to them. I think he makes very significant contributions on climate change and pay tribute to the work that he has done. I will reference the Jackdaw decision because I do not want to reference the Rosebank decision, but the Government are very clear that we are maintaining our commitment to get off the fossil fuel rollercoaster. It is entirely consistent with our commitment to building clean energy, and we remain committed to understanding and explaining to the British people the threat of climate change and the way that it will impact on their lives. It is happening now. We need to adapt, we need to mitigate now and we need to get off the fossil fuel roller coaster. I recognise the arguments that the noble Lord has put so well in this Chamber about that.