Durban Climate Change Conference
Debate between Chris Huhne and Tony Baldry
Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)
May I offer my right hon. Friend many congratulations on what has been achieved? Does he agree that one of the major achievements of Durban was that for the first time everyone in the world, including the major emitters—the United States, India and China—is now committed to the same process of a legally binding agreement? For the first time ever, everyone is going in the same direction towards the same objective. A simple machinery of government question is: will the funding for the green climate fund come from the budget of my right hon. Friend’s Department or that of the Department for International Development?
Chris Huhne
We have to determine the exact way we disburse money for the green climate fund. As I say, we will make an announcement in due course. My hon. Friend is right to say how important it is that everybody has signed up to that global agreement.
Electricity Market Reform
Debate between Chris Huhne and Tony Baldry
Mr Speaker
I always enjoy reading the Secretary of State’s book, but on the whole I prefer the abridged to the “War and Peace” version.
Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)
As a Minister in the Department of Energy at the time of the privatisation of the electricity industry, I have watched with concern as a market that had 13 participants at that time has shrunk to just six under Labour. How will my right hon. Friend’s proposals drive competition?
Chris Huhne
I thank the hon. Gentleman. That is exactly right. The biggest feature of the market is the fact that 99% of British energy consumers are served by just six companies, and we desperately need to increase that number. The arrangements that we are announcing today are designed to bring new entrants into the market by providing certainty on price, because one obstacle that they have is in understanding how the market works. Many of the new entrants will therefore be encouraged to invest.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Chris Huhne and Tony Baldry
Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Chris Huhne)
My Department works to secure clean, affordable energy supplies and action on climate change. Last week, the Energy Bill received a Second Reading in this House. It contains provisions for the green deal, our flagship piece of legislation, which will deliver energy efficiency to homes and buildings across the land. On Tuesday, we announced the fourth carbon budget, setting an ambitious target for UK emissions reductions. We are now the first country in the world to publicly commit to cutting carbon well into the next decade, and I have today published the summary of conclusions of the Ofgem review.
Tony Baldry
Given the current drilling by Cuadrilla at Blackpool, is the Secretary of State confident that extracting shale gas in the UK will not lead to the contamination of water supplies?
Chris Huhne
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. The UK has a robust regime and it is important to recognise that we intend to ensure that shale gas operations are carried out in a safe and environmentally sound manner. Shale gas exploration has been controversial, especially in the United States where regulation has not been well implemented, but here it is subject to a series of regulatory checks, including planning permission, health and safety checks, consultation with the Environment Agency and drilling consent from my Department. The Environment Agency in particular has scrutinised Cuadrilla’s plans thoroughly and does not consider that they pose a significant risk to the environment, including to water resources.
Fourth Carbon Budget
Debate between Chris Huhne and Tony Baldry
Chris Huhne
I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that we intend to try to meet all the reductions we have set out from our domestic activity. That is the clear intention of setting out the fourth carbon budget as we have. However, given the enormous uncertainties of making projections so far in advance, it would not be sensible for us to rule out the flexibility afforded by carbon trading at the relevant time.
Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)
If my right hon. Friend is going to meet these targets by reducing emissions here, it will mean reducing a lot of emissions from domestic housing. Will he give us more information about how he is going to achieve that with existing housing, and what exactly does he mean when he talks of ensuring that new homes are built to a high energy efficiency standard? What is a high energy efficiency standard in relation to zero carbon?
Chris Huhne
My hon. Friend knows that the lead Department on zero-carbon homes is the Department for Communities and Local Government. It has set out its thoughts on this issue. I am pleased to see that we intend to continue with the substantial improvement in energy efficiency standards in the 2013 and 2016 building regulations. On that basis, we will move quickly towards a zero-carbon homes standard, which will make a major contribution to meeting our long-term carbon reduction goals of 80% by 2050.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Chris Huhne and Tony Baldry
Chris Huhne
This is a real problem, in part because fuel poverty reduction is an objective for which the Government are not solely in control. Clearly, as energy prices bounce around, people get brought into or leave fuel poverty. As part of the fuel poverty review, I want us to set clearly obtainable objectives to deal with the root causes of fuel poverty. One key issue is that those on the lowest incomes often have enormously variable energy bills—varying, in fact, by a factor of six. If they are in modern social housing they can have low energy bills, but they can have very high bills if they are in private rentals. We must deal with energy efficiency issues.
Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)
On energy prices, how will my right hon. Friend ensure that the carbon floor price encourages investors to put money into green energy and does not simply become a mechanism that substantially increases energy bills?
Chris Huhne
That is one element of the proposals we will be bringing forward later in the consultation document. Indeed, we will make a statement on it. The Treasury will consult on the carbon tax element today. It is one of four key instruments that we will suggest should play a part in reforming the electricity market, taken together with our price support measures and our very keen enthusiasm to encourage market entrants. As competition is the best guarantee to consumers, I believe we can ensure that we have the best possible deal for electricity and gas supply in future.