Carbon Emissions

Lord Berkeley Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2015 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

In taking a holistic view my noble friend makes a good point. Under the UK’s Climate Change Act we are committed to cutting overall emissions by 80% by 2050. This extends the argument beyond housing. Carbon budgets provide the framework to put us on a cost-effective pathway to meeting our legally binding 2050 target.

[Lord Berkeley (Lab)]

Another manifesto commitment that will effectively increase the amount of carbon is the Government’s commitment to phase out onshore windmills. We can debate why that should be but the proposed planning system will effectively phase them out. Is the Minister aware that it will also reduce the number of jobs in the industry? Is he aware that a company called Mabey in Chepstow announced its closure last week, with the loss of 125 jobs, as a direct result of the fact that no more masts will be manufactured for windmills?

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

I do not know about the examples that the noble Lord mentioned, but in relation to windmills, or wind farms, decarbonisation must work for the local communities where infrastructure is built. We remain focused on getting the best deals for bill payers, to make these schemes work better.