§ 12. Jacqui SmithWhat action her Department is taking to secure diverse and reliable sources of energy. [19880]
§ Mr. BattleThe Government's energy policy is to ensure secure, diverse and sustainable energy at competitive prices. We are reviewing a number of specific policy areas, such as the regulation of utilities, support for renewables and clean coal technology. On 3 December, I announced a review looking into how the issues of security of supply and fuel diversity should be addressed in considering applications for power station developments. We propose to defer decisions on outstanding applications for power station consents until that review has been completed. The formal terms of reference of the review will be announced shortly.
§ Jacqui SmithI thank my hon. Friend for that answer. On the subject of energy, I commend him and his ministerial colleagues for being an especially good and reliable source of energy themselves, in the excellent work that they have undertaken since taking office. What effect will the Kyoto agreement have on the United Kingdom's energy policy? Will not new technology, such as clean coal technology, have an important role to play in enabling the UK to reach its targets?
§ Mr. BattleIn the Kyoto deal, for the first time, all the developed countries have agreed to take on legally binding emission targets, and the deal will lead to a real reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The targets are 5.2 per cent. below 1990 levels for developed countries. The European Union has agreed to an 8 per cent. cut. The UK has a domestic aim of reducing emissions to 20 per cent. below 1990 levels. We shall work on ways to achieve that aim, but I agree with my hon. Friend that clean coal technology is vital in securing the future of deep-mined coal; that is why we are supporting it and doing what we can to back it. It will have a part to play in meeting our emissions targets.
§ Mr. PatersonWhen considering energy policy, which has priority—offering the British consumer the cheapest possible electricity, honouring environmental commitments at Kyoto or keeping people in jobs in the energy industries?
§ Mr. BattleThey all have a priority, but we inherited a difficult situation because the Conservative Government had fragmented the energy sectors and forced them to compete with one another. When coal, or any other sector, is being priced out because the playing field has been stacked against it, we work hard—as we have worked hard—to ensure that there is a level playing field, to ensure that there is a place for coal in future energy policy.
Mr. O'NeillI congratulate my hon. Friend on the work that he and his colleagues have done to redress some 482 of the imbalance against the coal industry. Will he, in the course of his review, consider looking at the ownership of the power stations that are currently in the hands of PowerGen and National Power and are not being used to burn coal? If those owners are not prepared to use those stations for the purpose for which they are intended, will my hon. Friend suggest that they divest themselves of them and sell them to people who might be prepared to use British coal to create electricity, securing jobs for British workers?
§ Mr. BattleI do not need to remind my hon. Friend that we no longer own the power generators, and three independent companies are coming on stream. I hope that the review into the pool mechanism—the buying-in system for power stations—will help to ensure that there is a level playing field and that some fuels are not priced out.
§ Mr. LetwinIn the light of the Minister's reply to my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson), will he admit that he was effectively saying that he has not the slightest idea what the priorities of his energy policy are?
§ Mr. BattleI sometimes wonder whether Opposition Members are on this earth or Fuller's. I can only reply as I did earlier: we want secure, diverse and sustainable energy at competitive prices. Perhaps it is beyond the wit of Opposition Members to understand that complex equation.