Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Edward Leigh and Ed Davey(11 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Mr Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)
12. What the height will be of the proposed wind farms in north Lincolnshire; and if he will make a statement.
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Mr Edward Davey)
The proposed height of wind turbines is set out in the planning applications that are submitted for proposed wind farms. The local planning portal shows four wind farms with applications submitted in north Lincolnshire, with heights that vary from up to 100 metres to 126.5 metres. We are committed to supporting onshore wind as part of a balanced mix of energy to meet the UK’s needs. Wind farms must be well designed and well sited to be approved, and the planning process can take account of concerns, including landscape and visual amenity concerns.
Mr Leigh
Will my good friend visit me in north Lincolnshire so that we can stand together on the edge of the Wolds, an area of outstanding natural beauty, near the Ramblers church at Walesby and look at the amazing Lincolnshire clay and the 40-mile view? Will he then come back in 10 years’ time to see that great view desecrated by vast arrays of windmills 100 metres high, all in the name of some controversial science? Can we not place these windmills somewhere where they do not desecrate our lives?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Edward Leigh and Ed Davey
Mr Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)
7. What steps he is taking to listen to a diversity of views on the causes of change in the Earth’s climate.
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Mr Edward Davey)
My Department considers many views on the causes of climate change, and I encourage my officials to take all available scientific evidence into account when developing policy. However, the fact that we are open to a range of views does not mean we ascribe equal value to each.
As with all scientific endeavour, climate science involves uncertainties, but it is considered very likely that human activities are the major cause of current climate change, and compelling evidence shows that climate change brings major risks for us all. It would be deeply irresponsible not to act decisively and urgently to deal with climate change in the United Kingdom and globally.
Mr Leigh
I am no scientist, and I do not know the truth about the controversies that are raging around global warming, although I note that Dr James Lovelock wrote recently that, in his view, temperatures had remained broadly constant over the last 12 years. I do not know whether that is right or wrong; what I do know is that before we spend trillions of pounds on reining in our competitive economy and desecrating our country with wind farms, we should actually listen to a range of views.
Mr Davey
I know that, as a former distinguished Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, the hon. Gentleman wants to take evidence and science into account, and that he understands risk and probability. The case for action is overwhelming, whether it is made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or the Stern review.