§ Mr. Terry DavisTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the basis for the statement by the right hon. Member for Worcester (Mr. Walker) that Britain was at the bottom of the league on energy efficiency in June 1984; and what assessment he has made of evidence that Britain was achieving the target of being at the top of the league by the end of that Parliament.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe statement by my right hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr. Walker) was626W designed to encourage efforts to improve the United Kingdom's energy efficiency, not to set operational measures of performance. The United Kingdom's performance over the period 1983 to 1987 matched, and in some cases exceeded, that of most other countries, as the following table shows:
Total Primary Energy Requirement /GDP ratio (Tonnes of oil equivalent per $1,000 GDP at 1985 prices) GDP ratio 1983 Japan 0.28 Switzerland 0.29 Denmark 0.31 Italy 0.34 France 0.37 Austria 0.41 West Germany 0.43 United Kingdom 0.45 Spain 0.46 United States of America 0.48 Finland 0.49 Ireland 0.49 Netherlands 0.49 Norway 0.49 Iceland 0.51 Australia 0.52 Belgium 0.52 Sweden 0.52 Greece 0.54 New Zealand 0.55 Portugal 0.62 Canada 0.68 Turkey 0.78 Luxembourg 0.93 1957 Japan 0.26 Switzerland 0.28 Italy 0.33 Denmark 0.34 France 0.38 West Germany 0.42 United Kingdom 0.43 Spain 0.43 Austria 0.44 United States of America 0.44 Norway 0.46 Australia 0.48 Iceland 0.49 Ireland 0.50 Netherlands 0.51 Sweden 0.54 Finland 0.54 Belgium 0.55 Greece 0.57 Portugal 0.62 New Zealand 0.63 Canada 0.64 Turkey 0.80 Luxembourg 0.85 Source: "Energy Balances of OECD countries 1986–87" OECD 1989.
Note: These energy ratios are determined by many factors, including climate and industrial structure.