Cancun Climate Change Conference

Graham Stringer Excerpts

Monday 13th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Chris Huhne]

I can answer for the UK Government, but not for others. Some £2.9 billion will be drawn from the UK’s aid budget and that figure will rise to 0.7% of gross national income by 2013, so it will be additional to existing spending. We are also maintaining the previous Government’s commitment that the £2.9 billion will continue to account for less than 10% of overseas development assistance in every year of the spending period.

[Graham Stringer (Blackley and Broughton) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State has spoken very grandly about his aspirations and what he wants from the UN and for the globe. On a much more mundane level, if he gets all his aspirations on carbon targets and renewables, how much extra will my constituents have to pay in their energy bills in each of the next 10 years?

[Chris Huhne]

Every year, in the annual energy statement, we set out the impact on consumers. The last time we made that calculation, in the annual energy statement in the summer, we calculated that, assuming an oil price of $80 a barrel, which is rather less than the current price, the total increase in household bills, taking into account our other policy measures, including energy saving, would be 1%. The higher oil and gas prices are, the greater the savings. The break-even point comes at $100 a barrel, beyond which our consumers will gain from the move to a low-carbon economy and away from the fossil-fuel economy.