Climate Change Bill [HL]

Before the noble Lord withdraws the amendment, I would like to put another couple of points on the record in answer to the noble Lord, Lord Crickhowell. I regret that I did not make them earlier but I can do so now. I am sorry that I did not complete the answer but I made a note. The noble Lord, Lord Crickhowell, specifically asked about the committee’s role on policies. Although I alluded to that in what I just said, I have a specific note which may be useful in our deliberations. Our view is that the committee should look at progress overall in reducing emissions. As part of that, it will need to look at emission trends—whether they are going up or going down. However, we do not expect the committee to recommend future policies. The committee might say that more needs to be done, but it will be for the Government and the other authorities to decide how to fulfil it. This comes back to the issue which others have raised about nuclear energy: it is for the Government to decide how to get back on track. As I said, however, we are willing to look at Clause 28 to see how this can be achieved. There is a role for the committee on policies, but its role would not be to recommend future policies. The committee has to have a role in the assessment of the overall effect of reducing emissions and the effect of policies, but we do not see that its role would be to recommend future policies. It will be for the Government to come up with policies to give practical effect to advice from the Committee on Climate Change.