Lords
Proceedings
14 July 2026
10 contributions
State of Climate and Nature
I thank noble Lords for their valuable contributions in responding to this Statement made yesterday in the other place. As noble Lords know, the Statement was about climate and nature, and particularly the extent to which—as the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, repeatedly reminds us—you ca…
I did indeed not provide a complete answer to the thought put forward by the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, on farming. He concentrated mainly on energy and climate change, which is what I responded to particularly. As the noble Baroness will know, we have recently produced the farming road map, a compr…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
7 July 2026
Electricity Capacity (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026
My Lords, these draft regulations were laid before the House on 14 May. This instrument seeks to make technical improvements and changes to the capacity market, the Government’s main tool for ensuring security of electricity supply in Great Britain. Before I turn to the provisions in detail, I will …
Lords
Statutory Instrument
23 June 2026
Carbon Budget Order 2026
My Lords, I thank the committee for its consideration. The draft Carbon Budget Order 2026 was laid before the House on 2 June and the draft Climate Change Act 2008 (Credit Limit) Order 2026 on 14 April.
Given that we are sitting here this evening on the second of the four hottest days there ever ha…
Lords
Committee Stage
10 June 2026
Energy Prices Act 2022 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026
My Lords, these draft regulations were laid before the House on 16 March 2026 and consist of one of the briefest SIs that I have had the pleasure to introduce in this House. The SI consists of two clauses, one of which is a citation and commencement clause. The other one is a very straightforward am…
Lords
Committee Stage
10 June 2026
2 contributions
Contracts for Difference (Allocation) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
It is unfortunate that your Lordships have me again for this SI, but I hope I can be brief and to the point on this one. I believe that this particular SI produces a number of fairly technical but pretty minor changes to the way contracts for difference are bid for and allocated, and I hope we will …
I thank noble Lords for their very constructive and interesting contributions. I will attempt to address them as best I can. I do not think that I will have to write to anybody but, if necessary, I will make sure that it is done.
I have worked very successfully with the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, o…
Lords
Proceedings
21 May 2026
8 contributions
Offshore Oil and Gas: Venting and Flaring
UK oil and gas has one of the lowest upstream methane emission intensities globally. Industry and the Government have committed to the World Bank’s zero routine flaring by 2030 initiative and have gone beyond it with venting. The UK industry achieved the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative’s 2025 target …
The Government are not tolerating the wastage of gas in the way the noble Earl suggested. The target that we have set, which the industry is adhering to, is for zero upstream flaring and zero upstream venting by 2030. As I have set out, the intensities that go with that are reducing ahead of the tar…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
19 May 2026
8 contributions
Climate Change: Government Action
Since coming to office, the Government have taken decisive action to tackle climate change by accelerating the transition from volatile fossil fuels to homegrown clean energy. Indeed, as we face the second fossil fuel shock in less than five years, every solar panel we have put up, every heat pump w…
First, I am delighted to join my noble friend in paying tribute to Sir David Attenborough, not only for being 100 years old but for the increasing work he has done in recent years not only in talking about the natural world but in bringing public consciousness to bear on the costs of not doing anyth…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
19 May 2026
King’s Speech
My Lords, it is a great honour to open the fourth day of our debate on the gracious Speech. His Majesty’s Speech recognised the challenges facing our country and set out a clear plan not just to meet those challenges but to build a more resilient Britain which protects people for the long term and s…
Lords
Oral Questions
28 April 2026
10 contributions
National Emergency Plan for Fuel
My Lords, this morning the CEO of Wizz Air, which carried over 30 million passengers last year, warned that European airlines risk collapse by September if jet fuel prices remain at current record levels. We are starting to learn of flight cancellations taking place to save aviation fuel and passeng…
My Lords, the double blockade of the strait is still in place and shows no signs of easing. The national fuel emergency plan was last updated in April 2024, yet current pressures across aviation fuel, diesel and fertilisers are unique and complex. What consideration is being given to updating and st…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
27 April 2026
4 contributions
Warm Home Discount (Scotland) Regulations 2026
My Lords, these regulations were laid before the House on 17 March 2026.
Since 2011, the warm home discount has supported low-income and vulnerable households by reducing energy bills during the coldest months of the year, when support is most needed. The Warm Home Discount (Scotland) Regulations 2…
My Lords, I thank the Minister for setting out so clearly the warm home discount SI before us today. How confident are the Government that this scheme will both reach the right people in Scotland and, probably more importantly, will spend the full envelope that Parliament is authorising? The Governm…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
22 April 2026
3 contributions
Clean Power 2030 Action Plan: Rural Communities
The noble Lord is selectively quoting from the table, and he may indeed be right on solar, but the land use framework enumerates a whole load of other different types of use. In total, 1.7 million hectares—about a fifth of all the farmland in England—is to be taken from agriculture and applied to ot…
I am not accusing the Minister in any way of misleading the House, because this is from a different department, but the actual figure that was consulted on by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in January 2025 was that more than 10% of farmland in England was to be diverted towar…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
22 April 2026
7 contributions
Low-carbon Heat Networks
I thank my noble friend the Minister and welcome the warm homes plan, but we need ambition. Only infrastructure heats homes. Clean, low-carbon heat networks can match gas boiler costs. Instead of every house having its own gas boiler, you have one central source of heat—a big heat pump, a river, a d…
My Lords, we welcome the Statement made yesterday by the Energy Secretary that the Government will be working to accelerate the £15 billion warm homes plan. We support the work that the Government are doing on heat networks but, in light of the current energy crisis, what further work will be done t…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
21 April 2026
10 contributions
Electricity: Domestic Pricing
I am grateful for that Answer and I welcome the direction of travel on energy security and price stability, but do we not need to work harder and faster to decouple gas from electricity prices? Is it not true that gas accounts for about 30% of electricity generating but that the effect of gas on the…
My Lords, we cannot afford continued fossil fuel dependency. We welcome the move from legacy contracts to cheaper ones. Indeed, my party proposed similar over a year ago. I support the Greenpeace Power Shift RAB model to remove gas, the most expensive component, from the market. Are Ministers still …
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
16 April 2026
8 contributions
Data Centres: Energy Demand
My Lords, with Ofgem warning that proposed data centres are seeking 50 gigawatts, exceeding our current peak demand, my view is that, as yet, inadequate assessments have been made by government and regulators of AI’s climate impacts. Does the Minister agree that it is unacceptable merely to believe …
My Lords, remounting my favourite hobby horse, can I ask: when will the Government give increased support for tidal power, which, unlike wind and solar, never runs out?
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
13 April 2026
3 contributions
Energy Prices Act 2022 (Extension of Time Limit) Regulations 2026
My Lords, these draft regulations were laid before the House on 23 February and consist of an extremely short SI—six lines altogether—and a very slight amendment of a date from 25 April 2026 to 25 October 2026. I am sure noble Lords will be eager to know why that change of date is being undertaken. …
My Lords, the Energy Prices Act 2022 was brought forward in circumstances that were, by any measure, extraordinary. It was a moment of acute global volatility, when Governments across Europe were forced to act at speed to shield households and businesses from unprecedented shocks. Those conditions j…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
25 March 2026
7 contributions
Fuel Supplies: War in Iran
I thank my noble friend for his Answer. Two matters prompted my Question: first, reports that 20% of the world’s oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, and, secondly, reports at the weekend and since that the UK has only four weeks of fuel supplies in reserve. Given that, can he tell me how…
My Lords, I declare my interest as part of a consultancy that provides geopolitics analysis to the Government of Qatar. Does the Minister agree that the continuity of fuel supplies may involve negotiations with those who have de facto control of the Strait of Hormuz rather than with those whom we wi…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
23 March 2026
6 contributions
Contracts for Difference (Sustainable Industry Rewards and Contract Budget Notice Amendments) Regulations 2026
My Lords, after all that, noble Lords have me all over again for this next one. We had a very interesting and absorbing debate on the last SI, with some very good points made, but I hope that this debate can move to a conclusion with reasonable alacrity. I will make a brief opening statement. These …
My Lords, I note at the outset that on these Benches we welcome the direction of travel as set out in this SI. These regulations aim to modernise the contracts for difference scheme and strengthen the clean industry bonus, previously the sustainable industry rewards, ensuring that our transition to …
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
23 March 2026
8 contributions
Onshore Wind Farms
My Lords, I welcome the Minister’s positive reply. There are some 200 wind farm sites coming up for operational termination by 2030—some 3 megawatts of power. If we managed to repower those, we could have an additional 2 gigawatts without having new sites. That clearly makes sense. Will the Governme…
Will the Government consider very carefully the cumulative impact of the repowering of overhead powerlines in conjunction with onshore wind farms? Does the Minister not see that it is creeping urbanisation of the countryside, which should be avoided at all costs? At the very least, we should use the…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
23 March 2026
8 contributions
Warm Home Discount (England and Wales) Regulations 2026
My Lords, these regulations were laid before this House on 2 February 2026. The warm home discount scheme has been a key policy in the Government’s approach to tackling fuel poverty and reducing the energy costs of low-income and vulnerable households, ever since its inception in 2011. Last year the…
My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing these regulations, which I broadly support. I declare my interest as the honorary president of National Energy Action, from which I am delighted to have had a written briefing.
I have a question for clarification at the outset. A piece on the Governmen…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Statutory Instrument
19 March 2026
Renewables Obligation (Amendment) Order 2026
That the draft Order and Regulations laid before the House on 2 February be approved. Relevant document: 52nd Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee . Considered in Grand Committee on 17 March.
Lords
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
11 contributions
UK Energy Sources and Cost of Energy
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his response. Last night’s escalation proved that we should not be dependent on imported oil and gas and that the UK must make use of its domestic energy supplies. Given this and the fact that, by autumn, we could be producing enough gas to heat 1.6 million homes b…
My Lords, I welcome the measures that the Government have already taken, particularly around reducing the cost of heating oil. Does the Minister agree that it is important that we work with allies and partners to encourage all involved to stop targeting energy infrastructure?
+9 more contributions in this session