Climate Change Bill [HL]

I take a slightly different view from that of the noble Lords who have spoken so far because I do see some advantage in having a degree of flexibility to borrow forward and to move on the budget from one year to another. On the point about international credibility, if the Government can act only after having consulted, and therefore effectively on the advice of the Committee on Climate Change—one can assume that they would not act against the advice of the committee—that particular problem is rather less acute than has been suggested by the noble Lord, Lord Teverson. I agree with him that half a per cent seems rather small, and I would be inclined to leave it as it is at 1 per cent in order to give the Government the flexibility to respond to unexpected developments such as, for example, those related to the weather.