Malcolm Wicks
Main Page: Malcolm Wicks (Labour - Croydon North)(13 years, 4 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Gregory Barker)
One of the real steps forward at Cancun was progress on rainforests and forestry in general. Within the package of measures that was agreed was clear text making it absolutely crystal clear that preserving biodiversity and preventing perverse consequences of supporting palm oil plantations would be a key part of rainforest protection and funding.
Malcolm Wicks (Croydon North) (Lab)
On energy security, will Ministers examine critically the supply obligation that we place on companies, given that the tendency to buy short term rather than long term, and sometimes on the spot market, means that there can be no absolute guarantee that the supply will be in place in critical and extreme times for the world?
Charles Hendry
That is an element of the Energy Bill. We will increase the supplier obligation to ensure that suppliers can meet demand at times of greatest demand. I have also spoken with other Governments—Qatar this week and Norway more recently—about how to secure more long-term contracts to provide greater security of supply and greater price predictability.