Energy Bill
Debate between Tim Yeo and Andrew George
Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)
My hon. Friend will be well aware that one of the biggest road blocks to achieving progress in this area is the Chancellor of the Exchequer. It is not the Liberal Democrats who are standing in the way of the progress that we need to make. My hon. Friend needs to work with his own colleagues to persuade the Chancellor of the Exchequer to come on board.
Mr Yeo
I say to my hon. Friend that there are two people who could give a decisive signal to the Chancellor of the Exchequer this afternoon by voting for the amendment: one is the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the other is the Energy Secretary—both members of my hon. Friend’s party, with which we are delighted to be in coalition.
Energy Generation
Debate between Tim Yeo and Andrew George(11 years, 3 months ago)
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Andrew George
The hon. Lady is absolutely right. In fact, that is the nub of the debate. It has taken me 10 minutes to get to that point—perhaps I will get to it now—but it is fundamental to this debate. Investors are clear in the messages that they are sending out at present. This is not purely a green campaigning issue for non-governmental organisations. It is an area in which very substantial pension funds and other investors are looking to invest. Looking forward decades, they want certainty and confidence, and they see this as a sector where they believe that certainty can be demonstrated with a target set sooner rather than later. Not only has this part of the economy performed by generating a large number of jobs and significant growth—far higher growth than in almost all other sectors of the British economy—but it is an area in which significant investors in the British economy want investment to take place.
Mr Tim Yeo (South Suffolk) (Con)
I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing the debate, and I add my strong support for the intervention made by the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas). On the point that the hon. Gentleman just mentioned, one of the most significant factors is that the need for a focus on reducing the carbon intensity of electricity generation is supported not only by what one might call the usual suspects from the green world, but very strongly by the business world, including a large number of industries that have no direct interest in the issue whatever. That concern is perhaps reinforced by last night’s vote in the European Parliament, which is clearly a setback for achieving more effectiveness in the EU emissions trading system.