Topical Questions - 1st November 2012

10:19 Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

Since my Department’s previous Question Time, I have attended the pre-COP ministerial climate change talks in Korea. In addition, we have announced the winners of the record-breaking 27th North sea licensing round and the shortlist for our £1 billion carbon capture and storage competition. We have put in place the framework for our flagship green deal energy efficiency programme. We have welcomed the news of Hitachi’s major investment in new nuclear power stations in Britain. Energy UK has reported that energy investment in the UK is running at a 20-year high, including record investment in renewables. As you know, Mr Speaker, I intend this month to introduce the energy Bill, which will reform the electricity market, provide long-term certainty to investors, and ensure that British households and businesses enjoy affordable, secure and clean electricity supplies.

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Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)

T5. Both the Energy and Climate Change Committee and the independent Committee on Climate Change have argued that the Government should set a carbon intensity target for the power sector. Does my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State agree with them?

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Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s question. I think that there is a case for a decarbonisation target for the power sector, but that is still subject to ongoing discussion in Government. We are in a coalition and we need to get Cabinet approval for a decision such as this. However, it is worth noting for the benefit of the House that it is not just the Climate Change Committee and the Select Committee that have called for a carbon limit on the power sector by 2020. More than 50 companies, third sector bodies and trade bodies recently signalled their support in an open letter. There is huge support from industry for this measure and I hope that we can win that argument in this House.

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10:23 Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

The hon. Gentleman seems to suggest that there is a lack of transparency in the way in which energy costs are delivered. I have to say that I disagree with him. There are huge amounts of information about the different costs of green energy. He will know that the cost of renewables for bills is tiny and that the cost of energy efficiency schemes, such as the carbon emissions reduction target and the energy company obligation, is significantly greater. The real costs involved in and the real reason energy bills are going up are the rising price of wholesale gas on global markets and the need to invest in our distribution networks that need to be replaced. Those are the real drivers behind higher gas and electricity bills, and people who suggest otherwise should look at the facts.

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Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)

T9. The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, my hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes), has been instrumental in forcing inquiries into the uncompetitiveness of the oil companies in keeping prices high at the pump. Will he also urge the Treasury to stop the 3p planned fuel duty rise in January, which will cost motorists an extra £60 a year?

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10:28 Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

I do agree that investment in onshore wind is a serious matter. We need to ensure that industry and investors know that the Government are committed to a long-term, stable and consistent framework. The hon. Gentleman will know that I lead on renewable energy strategy and I decide the policy, and the industry has heard that.

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10:31 Graham Stuart (Conservative)

This country accounts for 2% of global carbon emissions, and that level is falling. It is, therefore, essential that we engage with countries around the world that have larger emissions. When did a Minister from the Department of Energy and Climate Change last visit China?

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10:32 Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the exact dates of when a Minister from our Department last visited China. I recently met the relevant Minister from China in London, and in Seoul at the international climate change talks. We are working closely with the Chinese, and they have taken up our 2050 road map calculator for how we can plan to reduce carbon emissions in an ambitious way. Our relationship with China in that area is solid.

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