Climate Change Bill [HL]

We were interested to hear the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, explain the amendment. It would change the text of the Bill so that where it states: "““The carbon budget for a period must be set with a view to meeting””," it would state: "““The carbon budget for a period must be set to meet””." It is not entirely clear how much difference that semantic change would make. It is unclear what advantage would be gained by changing the text from, "““with a view to meeting””," to ““to meet””. The only purpose of a carbon budget for a period is to provide a short-term framework that will result in lower carbon emissions. No carbon budget, except perhaps the very last, which ends in 2050, can be set to meet the 2050 target completely. All our efforts in the Bill are made with a view to meeting the 2050 target. It is difficult to see what the amendment would add to the Bill, as it is difficult to conceive of the differences between a carbon budget that is set, "““with a view to meeting””," and a budget that is set ““to meet””. The amendment would do no more than add a layer of confusion, and we cannot support it.