Climate Change Bill [HL]

Taking Amendments Nos. 23 and 24 of the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, together gives the impression that what he described previously as annual milestones are actually firmer than milestones, as the targets would become a duty for the Secretary of State not to exceed. Given the importance of the duty as spelt out in the first clauses of the Bill—the essential targets for 2050 and so on—the noble Lord’s amendments go far beyond what he disarmingly described in the previous amendments as important milestones but not hardened milestones. Those milestones would become a duty on the Secretary of State. While I sympathise with the general thrust of the noble Lord’s amendments, inserting that kind of pressure would go beyond that. If we return to this matter in due course, I hope a different way of framing the amendments could be found. The noble Lord might want to reflect on that.