Climate Change Act 2008 (International Aviation and International Shipping) Regulations 2026

Earl Russell Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Earl Russell (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing these regulations and all those who have spoken.

Extreme heat records and regret amendments appear to be competing with one another for frequency at the present time. Last week, the UK broke the record for the hottest June day three days in a row, reaching 37.3 degrees Celsius on Friday. Six NHS trusts declared critical incidents, and the London Ambulance Service recorded its busiest day in its entire history, with demand higher than even at the peak of the Covid pandemic. Europe is the fastest-warming continent on earth, and forecasters are warning that future heat events are likely very soon. I find it genuinely difficult to hear arguments that we are doing too much, too fast on climate change.

I will say something about the politics before turning to a couple of comments for the Minister. I want to return to the cross-party consensus on these issues, but I will first challenge the unravelling of our climate policy. When I hear calls from some to repeal the Act, abolish carbon taxes and cut renewable subsidies, with no credible alternative offered in their place, it becomes very hard to sustain the view that opposition to every government climate measure is made in good faith. If the Conservatives challenge settled climate policy, they should expect a response.

The challenge put today, and in our last debate, by both the noble Lords, Lord Hunt and Lord Deben, was: if not this then what? The policy assumption underlying these regulations was not made by this Government. It was made, as others have said, in April 2021, by the then Conservative Government, announced personally by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who declared that the UK would set what he called the most ambitious targets to cut emissions in the world. That Government confirmed explicitly that the sixth carbon budget would incorporate the UK’s share of international aviation and shipping emissions as an important part of their decarbonisation efforts. These regulations do no more than formalise that commitment in statute. The Conservative Party supported this policy in government; the question before this House is simply whether to honour it.

I want to be clear about what this instrument does and does not do. It introduces no sector-specific limits, no levies, no charges and no cuts to aviation or shipping. It is an accounting measure. It formulates a framework already assumed in policy since 2021, and we are pleased to see it. If we exclude aviation and shipping from our accounting, we do not make those emissions disappear; we simply allow them to consume a disproportionate share of the UK’s available carbon removals and offsets, at the direct expense of agriculture and heavy industry.

I have two comments for the Minister. First, on methodology, I really appreciate the way the Minister set that out. I recognise the need for international negotiations and that those are also complicated at the moment. I simply seek a reassurance that we will continue to work internationally on these issues, and that the Government will continue to engage with the aviation and shipping industries to give them a formal role in that process. On economic impact, I similarly call on the Government to continue to monitor the impact of this and to continue to work with industry to make sure that this system and these processes are as streamlined as possible.

The honest answer to the noble Lord’s concern, introduced by the noble Baroness, is this: a clear framework actually helps these industries by giving investors the certainty and legal clarity needed, as the Minister said, to back sustainable aviation fuels and green maritime technologies. Uncertainty is the enemy of investment; these regulations reduce it. They fulfil a commitment made by a Conservative Prime Minister, have passed the Commons already and align with our Climate Change Committee’s advice. I support them and I urge the House not to support this regret amendment.