Queen’s Speech

Baroness Featherstone Excerpts

Wednesday 25th May 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Featherstone (LD)]

My Lords, first, I pay tribute to the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Newcastle for her maiden speech. What a pleasure to be in this Chamber to listen to her. I could not agree more that when all else fails you in life, it is education that can transform your life chances.

Right now, countries are meeting in Bonn for two weeks of talks aimed at turning the historic Paris pact into a fully functioning reality. The recent Paris agreement set an ambitious new global target of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and the United Kingdom must play our part in making that commitment a reality. That means strengthening our law by setting a new legally binding target to bring net carbon emissions to zero by 2050—a 100% reduction, rather than the current 80% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions.

We need the Government to take this really seriously and to maintain the momentum towards a low-carbon, green economy that protects our environment and creates jobs at the same time. We also need the Government to ensure our energy security. Yet on both these counts, the Government are found wanting. The complete absence of even a mention in the gracious Speech of measures to tackle climate change speaks volumes. There is no recognition of the seriousness of the threat from climate change or the level of change that Britain must undertake for the Paris agreement to become a reality. If we are serious, Britain needs to be net zero carbon by 2050 without fail—not the 80% target agreed prior to the Paris agreement, which was more ambitious than many could ever have imagined. Quite frankly, 80% is no longer enough, given our ability to reduce emission levels compared to other countries.

Liberal Democrats would have put a zero-carbon Britain Bill into the gracious Speech to set a new legally binding target to bring net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, but from this Government there was not a word. Despite lip service about wanting to be the “greenest Government ever”, and Amber Rudd wanting to unleash a “solar revolution” and claiming glory for the Paris agreement, the reality has been a litany of anti-green actions: ending support for onshore wind power; sharply reducing support for other renewable technologies, including solar PV and anaerobic digestion; ending renewable energy’s exemption from the climate change levy; reducing the incentives to purchase low-emission cars; privatising the Green Investment Bank; scrapping the Green Deal with no replacement; weakening the zero-carbon homes standard; adding community energy to the list of sectors excluded from receiving tax relief; ditching the £1 billion budget for pioneering carbon capture and storage; ending the renewables obligation early—and on and on, most recently doing without a climate change envoy. That is not the sort of list you would expect from a Government genuinely committed to tackling climate change.

A key driver of tackling climate change must be the development of the renewable sector, not just for environmental benefits but for energy security, particularly in the light of the doubts about Hinkley, as well as jobs and economic prosperity. Yet instead of realising the business potential of renewables and becoming a world leader, the Government slashed subsidies at a stroke and undermined investor confidence, confidence that is crucial to our financial future. That will put progress back decades. They failed to commit to the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon, which is a crucial pilot for a new technology that could have a significant impact on our future energy needs. We need a Liberal vision for the future that puts sustainability at the very heart of every area of government policy: zero-carbon homes, which the Government failed to accept in the recent Housing and Planning Bill; electric cars, buses and trains; and the encouragement of industry to reduce its carbon footprint by rewarding innovation.

My last point, which is crucial to tackling climate change, concerns Britain remaining in the European Union. This has been given little attention. There is no mention whatever of climate change in the booklet that was sent by the Government to all members of the public, yet the EU is the one part of the world that is actively trying to address this threat. The UK has been a leader in this effort, encouraging other countries to go further in their actions than they otherwise would have done. At least, that is what happened under the previous Secretary of State, Ed Davey. It will not be possible to fulfil our international commitments, ensure energy security, boost our economy and create jobs unless and until this Government remember their commitment to future generations and start delivering on their promises.