Brian Binley
Main Page: Brian Binley (Conservative - Northampton South)
Mr Brian Binley (Northampton South) (Con)
I am grateful for this chance to speak on Third Reading, and I will be brief.
In bringing forward these measures, the Government have identified a genuine problem whose consequences could be severe—indeed, the lights could go out. Security of supply is imperilled through the decommissioning of resources. The shortage of available public funds requires that the private sector delivers, but uncertainties and market conditions have created a blockage. Above all, we need to keep a close eye on the price of energy, and this Bill has proved to be an important opportunity to do that.
I do not doubt that some of the measures in the Bill will contribute positively, but the bigger issue remains an abiding concern that the cost to British industry will be disproportionately high, and the price we pay will be of even greater magnitude. I have seen nothing to indicate that the Government have taken seriously the question of the costs from this Bill to our economy and our businesses compared with our major competitor economies.
We need to ask whether the true cost of the zealous attachment of Liberal Democrats to renewable energy solutions, endorsed by and, sadly, imposed from Europe, should be pursued seemingly at any price. A recent report by Civitas articulated many of those concerns, saying that the relentless drive to renewable energy is stifling innovation in the sector and costing a fortune, with the risk of reversing the long-term trend of improved living standards. It estimates that the cost to households of the renewable energy fixation will be about £600 each year by 2020, with the economy bearing a cost of about £200 billion—more than £16 billion each year, which exceeds 1% of our GDP. That is an enormous cost and a massive burden. The report also demonstrates that we risk bearing a quarter of the target of the EU renewables directive, as we plan to create the largest single increase in renewables to achieve compliance. The renewables obligation already costs us around £2 billion each year, a figure predicted to rise to £8 billion to meet these targets. Taking that money out of the economy will impede our growth, reduce prosperity and cost jobs.
Although decarbonisation is a worthy ambition and a desirable destination over time, fuelling subsidies for expensive and inefficient renewable energy technologies risks taking us further from, not closer to, achieving that ambition. The cost we pay in promoting the renewable energy sector could prove damaging to the development of our own innovative response to the challenge of decarbonisation. It could harm our prospects for rapid and sustained economic recovery, and it could drive enterprise away from this country. If decarbonisation is our goal, we should be far more prepared to encourage innovation in a range of different technologies and systems. This is not about whether we have a decarbonisation target in the Bill; it is about approaching the issue without the prejudice and the dogmas that have characterised the Secretary of State’s rhetoric and approach in office—he has been only moderately less rabid than his predecessor.
The energy challenge that we face is acute. The previous Government failed to do what was necessary. The time to act has almost passed; it is possible that even these measures may be too late to avert a harmful crisis. However, my overwhelming anxiety is that this Bill is not the answer to the energy questions we face, not least because of the impact that will confront businesses in this country. I wonder whether, in approving these measures, we are supporting good politics within the coalition but at a far greater cost to our economy than we can either sustain or afford.