HC Deb 14 May 1990 vol 172 c588
10. Mr. Dykes

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he expects to attend future meetings of the European Community Council of Energy Ministers for discussions on energy saving and anti-pollution measures.

Mr. Peter Morrison

My right hon. Friend expects to attend on 21 May the Energy Council which will consider the Commission's communication on energy and the environment, which covers energy saving.

Mr. Dykes

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Although, in future, energy saving will be more voluntary while anti-pollution measures are more compulsory, does my right hon. Friend agree that a package of such measures should be associated with the creation of the single market as well as the more commercial things to be done by the Department of Trade and Industry? When does my right hon. Friend believe that we shall catch up not only with the Community average on energy saving and anti-pollution measures, but with the best examples in Germany and elsewhere?

Mr. Morrison

I agree with my hon. Friend that energy saving and anti-pollution measures are not just Community matters, but worldwide ones. Therefore, it is important that Community members agree among themselves the best and most effective way ahead. I hope that my hon. Friend agrees that the lead we take on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is a 11 to this end, is the proper way to go about things because of their global nature.