Morning

Mr. Dave Anderson (Blaydon): Does the hon. Lady agree that it is not the many who want to do this that is the real worry; it is the few who may not? We are aware that the debate in this country has been polarised, and there are people in this country who do not believe that climate change is a reality. Another issue facing councils is that if they are not mandated, it will be another thing that they must deal with at a time when they are facing huge economic pressures. They might prioritise other things.

Caroline Lucas: I agree with the hon. Gentleman. One advantage of the approach that I am setting out is precisely that it demonstrates that there are good economic, as well as environmental, reasons for such work. Those two things come together beautifully, but to ensure that all local councils realise that and take the proposal up, we need more of a boost behind it, which is exactly what the new clauses seek to do.

If the UK is to play its part in preventing mean global surface temperatures from rising by more than 2° C, all councils will need to act with more ambition. The latest science suggests that we should be staying below a 1.5° C increase, which is a fearsomely ambitious target. If we are to meet that, we need greater urgency than is presumed by the current legislation.

Local councils have a particular responsibility for some of the sectors where they can deliver the quickest and easiest wins, such as local transport, where the changes are relatively low cost and pain free. If they are not given the powers and support necessary to do that, the Government will have more work to do at a national level, which is often harder and more expensive.

Afternoon

Mr. Dave Anderson (Blaydon): On a point of order, Mr Crausby. May I clarify the position on new clause 46? I thought that I heard the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion say that she wanted to press the new clause to a vote and that you said it would not be discussed. Perhaps I am wrong.

The Chair: Not at this point. We will consider the new clauses in numerical order and so the opportunity will be there later.

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Charles Hendry: Before the Division, I was explaining that the appalling legacy that we inherited requires a tremendous amount of new investment in our infrastructure, on an unprecedented scale.

Mr Anderson: The Minister will be amazed to hear that I agree with quite a lot of what he says, but he surely must take cognisance of the fact that the last Tory Government did away with the cleanest, most technically advanced coal industry in the world. If our coal industry had been sustained and carried forward, we would not have the current problems with security of supply.

Charles Hendry: We completely agree that there is a very important long-term role for coal, although we could debate at great length why the coal industry went into decline and the problems of security of supply. Our coal supply became unreliable at the same time as gas became more greatly available; the combination of those two factors brought about a dramatic switch from coal to gas. That is one reason why we were better able to meet some of our Kyoto commitments than most countries.

This is an uncorrected transcript of evidence taken in public and reported to the House. The transcript has been placed on the internet on the authority of the Committee. Neither witnesses nor Members have had the opportunity to correct the record. The transcript is not yet an approved formal record of these proceedings.

The full transcript may be read here.

Promoted by Paul Foy on behalf of Dave Anderson, both of St Cuthbert's Church Hall, Shibdon Road, Blaydon, NE21 5PT