Professor Barry McMullin:

The evidence that has been given by Dr. Deane is based on two premises, the first of which is that we can take all the time up to 2050 to reach the net zero target and the second of which is that we can remove from ourselves all responsibility for upstream emissions. He will agree that both of those positions are contentious. It would be good for the committee to try to explore the value judgments in respect of prudence and intergenerational justice, etc., that come into decision-making in this context. The Deputy also asked about the potential impact of reducing methane emissions rapidly. The big win from such a reduction would be that it would buy us more time. Methane is faster acting, which means that an effective reduction in methane emissions in the short term would buy us some desperately needed time to do this complete reconstruction of our energy system.