Climate Change Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 87: 87: Clause 16, page 9, line 16, at end insert— ““( ) An order setting the carbon budget for a period may not be amended after the period has ended.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, this amendment is in response to the recommendations of the Delegated Powers Committee. We accept its recommendation that the Bill should explicitly rule out the possibility of amending carbon budgets after they have finished. One of the underlying aims of the carbon budgeting system is to provide certainty for investors and the public about the Government’s ambitions for reducing emissions. The Bill allows for carbon budgets to be amended, but only in limited circumstances, following advice from the Committee on Climate Change and a vote in both Houses of Parliament. We believe that this provides the right balance between providing certainty for investors and the public and the flexibility to respond to significant changes since the budget was set. As it stands, the Bill is ambiguous about whether a budget may be amended after the end of the period. As the Delegated Powers Committee and others have pointed out, the option to do so could undermine the investor confidence that the Bill is specifically designed to provide. The amendment therefore accepts the Delegated Powers Committee’s recommendation and would make it explicit that a budget cannot be amended after the period has finished. I beg to move.