Chamber and committees

David Hawkey, do you want to add anything?

Yes. Monica asked first, so I will bring her in first.

Good morning, and welcome to the 25th meeting in 2024 of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee. Our first agenda item is a decision on whether to take in private item 4, which is consideration of the evidence that we will hear today on the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill. Are we agreed to take that item in private?

Members indicated agreement.

I have a very simple question. Graeme Roy, you alluded to the multitude of moving parts: the carbon budgets, the climate change plan and the Scottish budget. David Ulph, you suggested that all of that is tied into the UK budget as well, because some of it will cover reserved matters. Why would we not align with the UK’s carbon budget periods? If we are doing this together and are intermixed, why are we coming up with different things? Emily Nurse, you were happy with that, which surprised me. Please explain.

I am sorry, but before you answer that question, the one thing that never ever stops in this committee is the clock, and we are slightly up against timescales on the bill. I am going to entice people to give short answers because two committee members want to come in.

I am sorry, I do not mean to cut you off, but could you give as short an answer as possible? You can, of course, follow it up in writing if you think that you have not given the fullest answer, because we have infinite time to consider submissions in the evening after we finish committee meetings.

Monica—who do you want to answer that question?

Bob Doris and Ben Macpherson, I will take your questions together so that you can both get an answer, if that is alright.

Mark Ruskell has several questions, which I will try to entice him to roll into one.

We reconvene for the next evidence session, which is again consideration of the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill.

I am pleased to welcome to the committee the Rt Hon Philip Dunne, who was an MP until earlier this year and was chair of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, which led parliamentary scrutiny of interim emissions targets set for the whole of the UK using a carbon budgeting approach.

We are delighted to have you here, Philip, especially as you were able to give evidence at relatively short notice. We thought that your experience in carbon budgeting would help the committee. I think that you want to give a brief opening statement. [Interruption.] I cannot hear you, so I do not know who is doing what.

Graeme Roy, I am acutely aware that you very kindly gave up your time to come and give evidence today and that, through no fault of your own and as you made clear, you have another engagement to go to. We were slow in starting, so you are formally excused. Please do leave if you feel that you need to. Thank you for the helpful evidence you have given. I am sorry to bring that up.

Emily, do you want to add anything?