Climate Change Bill [HL]

I do not want to make a cheap point, because I am very conscious of the fact that in the past quarter of an hour I may have used the term ““different carbon units””. I am not certain whether I did, but the fact is that we are discussing Amendment No. 85, it does not have my name on it and I do not have to answer any questions about it. I remind noble Lords that all of the provisions in the Bill have been agreed with the devolved Administrations. That is my starting point. The statements under Clause 14 will provide all the information necessary to determine whether the Secretary of State has met the budget for that period—that is, whether the net UK carbon account does not exceed the budget. The Clause 14 report will provide information only on the amount of carbon units which have been credited to or debited from the net UK carbon account. Under the Bill, the duty to meet budgets rests with the Secretary of State alone and it is the Secretary of State alone who has a net carbon account. The devolved Administrations do not have net carbon accounts under the Bill, so it is not clear what information the Secretary of State would be expected to provide as a result of this amendment. The provisions of the Bill have been agreed with the devolved Administrations. As many aspects of climate change policy are devolved, it would be perfectly possible for the devolved Administrations to bring forward their own legislation to tackle climate change, within the scope of their competence. That needs to be said, too. The Administrations have agreed the terms of the Bill, but within the rules and protocols relating to devolution, they are perfectly able to bring forward legislation if they wish. However, the net carbon account holder is the Secretary of State alone.