Carbon Emissions

Lord Howell of Guildford Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2015 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

I draw the noble Lord’s attention to our record over the last five years in making buildings more efficient. Homes and non-domestic buildings built to the latest building regulation requirements are already very energy efficient, so that plays into the affordable homes argument.

[Lord Howell of Guildford (Con)]

Would my noble friend explain to the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, and indeed the noble Lord, Lord Redesdale, that they are talking about emissions arising from domestic activity and domestic energy production, while, through our colossal imports into this country, our emissions from consumption are rising very fast? They have risen enormously since 1990. If one is concerned about combating global climate change, the changes we are talking about today make very little difference to our contribution, while they probably help a number of would-be homeowners very considerably.

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

In taking a holistic view my noble friend makes a good point. Under the UK’s Climate Change Act we are committed to cutting overall emissions by 80% by 2050. This extends the argument beyond housing. Carbon budgets provide the framework to put us on a cost-effective pathway to meeting our legally binding 2050 target.