Caroline Flint (Don Valley) (Lab)

Last week, just 900 installations took place and two thirds of businesses had empty order books, but my question is about the Government’s next round of cuts to solar, which is due on 1 July. Last night, the Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Gregory Barker), tweeted:

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Tom Greatrex

I am grateful to the Minister for that response. I am sure he will also be aware of the evidence that Volker Beckers, the chief executive of RWE npower, gave to the Energy and Climate Change Committee earlier this week. He explained that the company was pulling out of the Horizon joint venture because continuing

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Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

My Department considers many views on the causes of climate change, and I encourage my officials to take all available scientific evidence into account when developing policy. However, the fact that we are open to a range of views does not mean we ascribe equal value to each.

As with all scientific endeavour, climate science involves uncertainties, but it is considered very likely that human activities are the major cause of current climate change, and compelling evidence shows that climate change brings major risks for us all. It would be deeply irresponsible not to act decisively and urgently to deal with climate change in the United Kingdom and globally.

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Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

I know that, as a former distinguished Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, the hon. Gentleman wants to take evidence and science into account, and that he understands risk and probability. The case for action is overwhelming, whether it is made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or the Stern review.

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Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

The uncertainty surrounding climate change, and surrounding all technologies, is such that it would be irresponsible not to pursue every possible low-carbon technology. The hon. Gentleman is right to suggest that renewables have a positive future, as does solar power. We propose to deliver an additional 620,000 installations at a cost of just £500 million by 2015—that is, to deliver nearly three times as many installations as were delivered under the old scheme, at a third of the price.

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John Robertson

I think that a few people will have been slightly disappointed by the Secretary of State’s answer. According to evidence given to the Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change by Peter Atherton of Citigroup Global Markets, investment in Scottish renewables in an independent Scotland would be “highly questionable”. Given that other companies are also saying that they are withholding investment, should not a referendum on Scottish independence be held now rather than later, for the good of energy in this country?

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

We see a big role in the future for combined heat and power gasification plants. The coalition has introduced the renewable heat incentive to support exactly that type of technology and will shortly publish details of future subsidies for renewable electricity under the renewables obligation. Furthermore, DECC’s UK renewable energy road map clearly sets out the actions we are already taking to remove non-financial barriers to deployment.

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Caroline Flint (Don Valley) (Lab)

This week, we learned that the Foreign Secretary—for whom I understand the Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, the hon. Member for Wealden (Charles Hendry) was once the chief of staff between elections, just to add to his biography which we are learning about today—does not think the Government are doing enough to support the low-carbon economy. I absolutely agree with him. We also learned that the Energy Secretary and the Business Secretary wrote back urging caution. It was bad enough when the Chancellor was talking down the green economy, but for him to be joined by the Energy Secretary absolutely beggars belief. Is not the Foreign Secretary right that unless Britain shows strong leadership on the green economy, there is no hope of securing international agreement on climate change?

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Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

Unlike the right hon. Lady, I have read the letter from the Foreign Secretary and I wrote the letter to the Prime Minister. They are very positive about what we want to do on low carbon technologies and climate change in this country and abroad. We are leading the way.

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Angela Smith (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Lab)

T8. Speaking in the House on 9 February, the Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Gregory Barker) said he expected to see“steady growth in the number of people who will be employed”—in the solar industry—“until 2015 and beyond.” —[ Official Report , 9 February 2012; Vol. 545, c. 479.] Why then have 6,000 people in the solar industry lost their jobs since last summer? ( 107641 )

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Gregory Barker

We are very much engaged with all the energy-intensive industries, because we are absolutely determined in DECC to ensure that decarbonisation does not lead to de-industrialisation. On the contrary, if we are smart the low-carbon transition should enhance our competitive position. But that does mean being sensitive to the burdens that we place on manufacturing industry. We are starting with a package of compensation worth £250 million for energy-intensive industries, but that is only the beginning of a much more nuanced and ambitious policy.

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Charles Hendry

The most important thing that we can do for the coal mine industry is to show that there is a continuing role for coal in the generating mix. We are all clear that we cannot have unabated coal in the mix in the future, and new plants will need to be equipped with carbon capture and storage technology. That is why the competition that we are launching here to put the United Kingdom at the forefront of the development of CCS technologies offers the best possible future for coal to have a long-term role in the energy mix going forward.

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