Speeches by Crichton.

“There is a “Columbo”-style last question.”

“Will it be the consumer?”

“Who should pay, the industry or the public?”

“All of that is very expensive. Who should be paying for that, the consumer or the investor?”

“Does that mean new-build gas stations that take carbon out or do you retrofit existing gas stations?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. I was very struck by the hon. Gentleman’s comment about longer journeys meaning shorter lives. There is no competition on journeys, of course, but my constituents in Na h-Eileanan an Iar and the Western Isles face some of the longest journeys in Britain to ge…”

“Let us talk briefly about that sense of urgency. You mentioned trade unions. I declare my interest as a member of the GMB. Trade unions warn that your 2030 targets mean you will be buying all the supply chains and manufacturing stuff off the shelf from other countries rather than building up the manufacturing base here…”

“What about this worry about supply chain jobs and manufacturing jobs going abroad rather than coming here?”

“Thank you for coming in, Secretary of State and Permanent Secretary, and for your bold opening statement and outlining the urgency of the mission, which I will maybe return to if time allows. You talked about siren voices in your opening statement. I wonder whether these siren voices include the Aberdeen chamber of com…”

“Plus the industry.”

“I am glad you mentioned the workforce, because the rhetoric is good, and the jargon is good—just transition, clean energy, offshore skills passport—but how is this going to be done practically? What does a just transition mean for people who work and take helicopters into the North sea for three weeks at a time just no…”

“I commend my hon. Friend for raising this issue. He talks about the increase in Russian and foreign-state activity in the waters. The role of the Royal Navy and submarine fleet in protecting us from that is vast. I welcome the announcement by the Secretary of State for Defence last week that the joint expeditionary for…”

“Emily and Emma, welcome to the Committee. Thank you for your evidence. I would like to say happy new year, but your evidence doesn’t give me any reason for optimism. It is less than five years to the 2030s; it is four years, 11 months and however many days. Are we going to reach our climate change targets? Yes or no?”

“All the problems you mention are the remit of DESNZ.”

“You said that tone, leadership and ambition were important, but so are authority, clarity and resource. From your observations, does DESNZ have a sufficiently big role in Government to deliver net zero?”

“Do they have enough muscle?”

“Are these mission boards and joint committees a help or hindrance to delivering net zero, or do you want to see a streamlined structure? You referred to a committee on net zero led by the Prime Minister. Is it a big enough priority in Government?”

“Let me put the question in a slightly different way. Is net zero sufficiently embedded across Departments in Government?”

“Indulge me for asking one off-turf question. One Government have abandoned their climate change targets; the Scottish Government gave up on them. From what you said in your preamble, do you advise the Scottish Government on climate change as well?”

“Let me ask my first question in another way. Are the UK Government in danger of repeating the mistakes that the Scottish Government made with over-ambitious climate change targets?”