Net Zero Carbon Emissions

Debate between Lord Duncan of Springbank and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Tuesday 29th October 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Duncan of Springbank]

The answer to the point raised by the noble Baroness is that we need to invest very carefully and very substantially. There will be impacts across our entire economy—all will have to do their part. The Government will examine this report very carefully indeed, along with the terms of reference going forward.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, will much of the cost of net zero emissions by 2050 be transferred on to energy prices? If that is the case, will that not make us increasingly uncompetitive in the world and wipe out what remains of our heavy industries?

[Lord Duncan of Springbank]

We face a challenge going forward to achieve the net zero target by 2050. We have to remember that this is not all about energy regeneration itself because there are other areas that we need to consider, not least the decarbonisation of our transport network. Each of these elements will have a cost that, whether we like it or not, will eventually fall on taxpayers or individual consumers. That is where the money will ultimately come from.

Frequent Flyer Airmiles Schemes

Debate between Lord Duncan of Springbank and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Monday 21st October 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Duncan of Springbank]

To be very clear, the UK has an air passenger duty which raises £3.6 billion a year. It is the highest such tax in Europe—many countries in Europe do not have such a tax—and that money goes a long way to address climate change issues, which are of importance to the Government.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, surely a customer loyalty scheme is what it says on the tin: it is trying to persuade people to fly with one airline rather than another. There is no evidence that if you discriminate against these schemes, people will fly less; they will just choose between one airline and another.

[Lord Duncan of Springbank]

It is not the policy of the Government to intervene in these commercial decisions. It is also important to recognise that this is a regressive step in many respects.

Nuclear Power Stations

Debate between Lord Duncan of Springbank and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Monday 9th September 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Duncan of Springbank]

It was our Government. We will have an updated clean growth strategy because it is absolutely vital. We will need to be bold about taking ourselves forward to net zero by 2050, because our present initiatives are not adequate to deliver that. There will need to be a significant refresh not just of the wider clean growth strategy but of all aspects of this covering all government departments.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, taking up the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, on banishing CO₂ altogether, surely we will have to stop breathing out.

[Lord Duncan of Springbank]

I strongly discourage my noble friend not to stop breathing out.