Climate Change Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 152: 152: Clause 28, page 15, line 7, leave out from ““report”” to end The noble Earl said: The amendments in this group are very similar to some that we have already debated today, but they go a little further. They are an attempt to clarify the language in Clause 28, which deals with reports on progress, such that a genuine report on our progress is what emerges as a result of this clause. The wording of the Bill places a duty to report on the way in which the budget was or was not met. That is too weak and ambiguous. Our language, which is in the spirit of the Government’s intention in this clause, is better in that it calls for a report on the extent to which the budgets have or have not been met. It also mandates that the report be not just a progress of past action but an assessment on the impact of this action for the future. Thus instead of simply reporting on how the budget was or was not met, we propose to include in the report the extent to which the budgets have been or will be met. Indeed, the report should include an assessment of the effectiveness of the action taken in meeting the budgets and recommendations for further action that should be taken to ensure that budgets are met. We are trying in these amendments to strengthen the Bill’s reporting mechanism so that we get a genuinely accurate picture of our progress, so that we understand the reasons for our progress and get an idea of how to make future progress. I beg to move.