Mr Peter Lilley (Hitchin and Harpenden) (Con)

2. What assessment he has made of the procedures adopted by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for its fifth assessment report. ( 98660 )

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The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Gregory Barker)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently revised its procedures in response to an independent review by the InterAcademy Council. The revisions address the key recommendations of the review and put the IPCC in a stronger position to prepare its fifth assessment report, but there is absolutely no room for complacency.

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The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Charles Hendry)

The Department of Energy and Climate Change publishes estimates of retail energy prices in our “Quarterly Energy Prices” publication. In general, in line with wholesale costs, most prices have gone up in recent years. However, domestic gas and electricity prices have recently both been cut by just over 2%, although prices will still be up by about 15% for gas and 8% for electricity compared with a year earlier.

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Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

I have to disagree with the hon. Gentleman. The carbon price floor is important if we want to move to a low-carbon future, to which I am completely committed. We understand the impact of the carbon price floor on energy-intensive industries. The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Charles Hendry) is talking with his colleagues in Northern Ireland to try to mitigate those issues.

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Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

I agree with my hon. Friend. I am a liberal, but I strongly believe that collective action can help solve some of society’s ills. That is why I promoted collective purchase and switching as consumer affairs Minister and am continuing to do so as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. It is a shame that the party of Keir Hardie and Aneurin Bevan forgot the power of collective action in its 13 years in government.

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Gordon Birtwistle (Burnley) (LD)

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the project in Burnley to clad hundreds of Calico Homes, which is funded by British Gas, Calico and this Government, is the right way forward as it will save money, keep the houses warmer in winter, keep energy bills down and help achieve the aim of having green energy?

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Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

We need to balance a range of priorities in energy policy, including energy security, affordable bills and tackling climate change. That is why this Government have a portfolio approach to energy generation. We are looking at low-carbon technologies, including wind power, carbon capture and storage, and new nuclear.

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Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)

When the previous Labour Government left office, 1 million fewer households were living in fuel poverty than in 1997. The Tory Government have scrapped Warm Front, the carbon emissions reduction target, the community energy saving programme and social tariffs, and they have cut the winter fuel allowance. As a result, the level of fuel poverty has risen from one in five households to one in four. The Minister, who is responsible for tackling climate change, has said that the energy company obligation would deliver far more for the fuel poor than any measure introduced by Labour, yet the Government’s own figures show that, in a best-case scenario, the ECO will lift just half a million homes out of fuel poverty. With energy bills at record levels, why are the Government turning their back on the fuel poor?

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Mr Turner

I thank the Minister for that answer. Is he aware of the new blade tip generation technology, which is more efficient than traditional turbines and can be installed with no lasting adverse effect on the countryside? Will he support moves to manufacture this innovative form of renewable energy on the Isle of Wight in support of the eco island initiative?

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Andrew George (Liberal Democrat)

May I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing his new position? He said that wind is the most efficient form of renewable energy, but what will the Government do to ensure that communities benefit from new wind energy projects?

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Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

First, we need to make sure that communities are listened to during the planning process, and the planning reforms will do that. We are committed to ensuring that local communities capture the full economic benefit from hosting renewable energy projects, particularly the retention of all the business rates that these installations pay.

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Mr Charles Kennedy (Ross, Skye and Lochaber) (LD)

May I unambiguously and warmly welcome—it will be welcome across the whole of Scotland—the decision to site the Green investment bank in Edinburgh? Does the Secretary of State agree that this will also give a further shot in the arm to other sites in Scotland, such as Kishorn in my constituency, that are pursuing renewable energy initiatives with great employment prospects? I congratulate the Government. This is a very good start for my right hon. Friend in his new post.

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The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Gregory Barker)

In February, Ernst and Young upgraded the UK to fifth in the world for overall attractiveness for renewable energy investment. Cleantech Group estimated UK venture capital investment in clean technology in 2011 to be around $566 million, ranking us third in the world after the United States and China. We have forecast that 4 GW of renewable electricity will become operational in the coming year, which represents a doubling of installed capacity since May 2011.

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Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

This is my first departmental Question Time as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. Since my appointment in February, I have been rather busy, following on from the successes of my predecessor. I have opened the world’s largest offshore wind farm off the coast of Cumbria, launched the energy efficiency deployment office to help the Government deliver their energy efficiency policies, and published reforms to the feed-in tariffs scheme. In addition, the Department of Energy and Climate Change and Ofgem have published a report on cutting the costs of offshore wind connection.

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Chris White (Warwick and Leamington) (Con)

T6. In Warwickshire, we are fortunate to have many people who are seeking to design community-based renewable energy solutions, ranging from solar panels on public buildings to hydroelectric power. In the run-up to the Budget, will the Minister ask the Treasury to consider extending community investment tax relief to matters such as investment in community energy, which delivers both social and economic benefits? That could provide a significant incentive for people to invest in such schemes. ( 98689 )

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Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)

T3. Does the Secretary of State support WWF’s earth hour on 31 March, when across the world, everyone will be encouraged to switch off lights for one hour to highlight the issue of climate change? What will he do to promote earth hour? ( 98686 )

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Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)

I was concerned to read the scaremongering in The Guardian today about how nuclear power station sites are at risk of flooding. My understanding is that there has been no cover-up of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs report on flooding, but we know that the Department of Energy and Climate Change has taken action through the Weightman report to say that coastal defences must be maintained. Does the Minister agree that such scaremongering is not helpful to residents in Suffolk?

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