Energy Bill [HL]

I should like to respond to one question about how this matter relates to the Bill and the North Sea. I want to offer this fact to Members of the Committee: over its time, the North Sea has produced 42 billion barrels of oil. It has been of great benefit to us as a country; however, those barrels have contributed 18 billion tonnes of CO₂ to the atmosphere. There is a definite link between not only the North Sea’s inevitable economic benefits for us but the environmental consequences of that. I should also say, for information, that buying CO₂ commercially as a feedstock at the moment costs £100. We must be able to sort something out whereby the producers of CO₂ and those who buy it at £100 can be brought closer together, so we can begin to see the development of an industry in getting CO₂ safely out of the atmosphere.