Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) (Extension to Maritime Activities) Order 2026 Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
Lord Moynihan
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) (Extension to Maritime Activities) Order 2026
Lord Moynihan Excerpts(1 day, 10 hours ago)
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Lord Moynihan (Con)
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for introducing this SI, to which I have tabled a regret amendment. I also echo all the comments made by the noble Baroness, Lady Hoey, on the role of the Minister. I will speak both to my regret amendment and to the noble Baroness’s fatal amendment.
There are two important issues regarding this SI, which places a carbon tax on the ferries that service principally Northern Ireland but also the Isle of Wight. First, as this House knows, the arguments for a statutory instrument must be identical in both Houses of Parliament and, in this case, in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales as well. They are expected to be consistent in substance and fact. Neither has been applied on this occasion, as was evidenced in the debate in Northern Ireland this week.
My concerns are twofold. The first is procedural: frankly, there has been a total lack of respect for the House of Commons and the Northern Ireland Assembly. The second is political: this is nothing more than a carbon tax on those who rely, for their livelihoods and travel, on the ferries captured by this legislation. Unlike the European scheme, it is not hypothecated with revenues invested in decarbonisation. Instead, as has been pointed out, it is the Treasury that pockets the proceeds, with no benefit to the environment, nor, most importantly, to the people of Northern Ireland. It is just another carbon tax to make Northern Ireland in particular less competitive than like-for-like companies in GB.
On 13 January this year, the SI was introduced in both Houses. On 3 February, it passed the House of Commons without reference at any point to the implications of the EU CBAM. However, when debated on 3 February, the good news in another place was that this SI had nothing to do with the EU CBAM. If it had, it would have read differently, and the impact assessment would have shown a range of options outlining what would happen to the emissions trading system under the EU CBAM.