Paris Climate Change Conference

Lord Lawson of Blaby Excerpts

Tuesday 15th December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

My Lords, the noble Baroness is quite right about the importance of the small islands in the Pacific and elsewhere, such as the Seychelles and the Maldives. It was brought home graphically to me when I met representatives from Tuvalu in the House of Lords during the summer. They said that two degrees was not going to be enough to save them from total obliteration. Although there is a measure of self-interest, it is to the credit of the world that there was a sense of international responsibility for these issues when they came up in Paris.

On the investment issues which the noble Baroness rightly raised, £122 billion is spent annually in the UK on the low carbon economy. It is of extreme and growing significance and we are well aware of it. I repeat that this global agreement has been much welcomed. It gives certainty and sense of direction worldwide, not just in the UK. We have significant investments in the UK which have taken heart from the Government’s decision. An example is Siemens in relation to offshore wind. The point is well made that economic leaders need certainty. I would not disagree with that and it will, obviously, inform our policy.

[Lord Lawson of Blaby (Con)]

My Lords, the problem is that the Statement that my noble friend read out bears only the most tenuous relationship to what is actually happening in the real world. Is he not aware, for example, that back in the real world India has just announced plans to double its coal production by 2020? Is he not aware that in the real world, more than 2,500 coal-fired power stations are under construction, particularly in India and China but elsewhere around the world? Whether he wants to see decarbonisation or not, does he agree that, bearing in mind the effect on fuel prices, which affect fuel poverty and the competitiveness of British industry—one thinks of the recent closures in the steel industry in this country—it makes no sense whatever for us to decarbonise faster than the rest of the world?

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

My Lords, I am very well aware of the massive deployment of coal. That is one reason why the world needed to come together to see how it will address that issue. It is also true to say that in both India and China there is massive deployment of renewables. I think that the deployment of solar is about to overtake coal in India, so I recognise the issue. That is why we need to address it. I hope the noble Lord agrees that we do need to address it; I was not sure whether that was the inference of his question. I understand the particular problems with steel, for example, that he mentioned, but this issue is not related simply to energy but also to overproduction. I also recognise that every country has to protect its own patch and its own interests. As I said, there is an element of self-interest in different countries coming to this agreement in different ways, but there is a real sense of international responsibility and a real sense that if we had not acted in the way we did in Paris, we would face very serious problems in the future. There are still challenges but this was a very important milestone, and a very important milestone for the United Kingdom in the role it played.