Climate Change Bill [HL]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply. I was quite persuaded by his reply on Amendment No. 201; I was positively impressed by it. I will not move that amendment. Biodiversity and ecology are different from the social and economic issues. Clearly, they all have to be taken into consideration. There are huge lobbies and huge areas of government policy on the economy and the social infrastructure of the country for those to be taken fully into account without writing them into the legislation. I do not think that is the case for biodiversity. That is not in any way a criticism of the Government’s awareness and continued efforts in that area, but it is something that needs to be in the Bill, and it needs to be emphasised in this area. We have cut down all the other references to it and therefore it is essential that an area such as biodiversity, which is very much under the radar screen in public understanding and probably in general administrative understanding, should be there. On that basis, I should like to test the opinion of the House. On Question, Whether the said amendment (No. 194A) shall be agreed to? Their Lordships divided: Contents, 78; Not-Contents, 145. [Amendment No. 195 had been withdrawn from the Marshalled List.] [Amendment No. 196 not moved.]