I think the Honourable Members on these benches can all agree that we are grateful to the Liberal Democrats for choosing to highlight the governments ongoing work in combating climate change by raising today’s debate.

I don’t think that anyone would take issue with the idea that the fight against climate change – like charity- must begin at home. Much has been made of the small changes which all of us can make to our lifestyles that when added together should make an enormous difference.

Despite this we must remember during the course of this debate that home is not just something which belongs to the individual or the private person. New homes which are not yet occupied are an important consideration. Companies have their own homes, perhaps even several homes across the country and we, as MPs, have our own home here in the House of Commons.

I want to take the opportunity to spend a few minutes examining what is being done and in some cases, what needs to be done, in all of these different homes across the country.

I think all honourable members may have heard a fair few ‘light bulb’ jokes in their time but I very much doubt anyone has heard the one which asks ‘ How many MPs does it take to change a light bulb?’  The answer on this occasion is 77.

That is how many honourable members signed my EDM which called for a ban on the sale of incandescent light bulbs.

It was suggested to me by some of my constituents that I was doing my patch a disservice as the first light bulb was actually invented in my constituency by Joseph Swan who was actually born in Sunderland, but for me this proves that Gateshead and Sunderland have been at the forefront of the energy agenda in the past and I have every faith they will continue to be so in the future.

I would not want to presume what happened next was an immediate response but needless to say I was delighted when the chancellor announced that the sale of old fashioned energy hungry light bulbs is to be phased out by 2011. This shows a clear commitment from the government to lead people in the right direction and enable all of us to make the small changes that deliver a big difference.

I know from spending time in my constituency that although the message is getting through there remain significant obstacles for government to tackle. It is all very well preaching from our parliamentary pulpits but we must remember that for those families who are surviving on low incomes pursuing a green lifestyle carries a sometimes unsustainable cost.

The government’s announcement that from next year every household will be able to monitor the amount of energy being used at any given time is exactly the sort of simple innovation which should be supported. It is this sort of aid that will help people not only to stop wasting energy but also to stop wasting money. Something which is especially useful in low income areas.

 The Warm Front scheme forms a vital part of the Government’s Energy Efficiency Commitment and will have provided 40 million bulbs to consumers by 2008. I know that the Government is also working hard at EU level to try and find a way of reducing VAT on energy efficient goods such as Low Energy light bulbs. I hope that with the support of honourable members from all sides of the house we will be able to find a solution which makes energy efficiency affordable for all.

Often people have an instinctive lack of trust towards information that comes from energy companies and I would recommend that honourable members consider the added validity that their endorsement can provide to such worthwhile projects. This applies equally to schemes run by government or the energy industry.

We certainly do not want to see the development of carbon inequalities especially if they are going to closely reflect income inequalities. If cutting carbon costs we must ensure that everyone can meet their own efficiency targets.

The Liberal Democrats certainly do not seem to have the solutions to this problem. Proscribing top down standards, targets and subsidies such as energy mortgages will only lead to additional costs being passed on indiscriminately to consumers. This will again hit the poorest  - hardest.

It is clear that this government is committed to leading the field across the world in combating climate change, in fact, many other countries are already having to play catch up. I suppose then it is no surprise that opposition parties find themselves having to do the same thing.

As I mentioned at the start of my speech it is not just individuals and families who have homes. Businesses across the UK have several hundred thousand homes of their own. It is welcome that on the whole UK business is accepting it has to take responsibility for the changes which are taking place and adjust its own role to accommodate this.

Although the EU carbon emissions trading is currently only in its infancy it is testimony to the commitment of the government that the UK is again at the forefront of the scheme and continues to set an example of best practice to the rest of the EU.

It is of course vital that the government listens closely to the advice of scientists across the globe and we have to be bold enough to take radical action when this is necessary.

I never knew that dustbins could be quite such a hot topic of conversation!

One of the biggest issues to emerge on the nation’s doorsteps during the heated debates that have taken place across the country over the last couple of months was the issue of refuse collection. Dealing properly with our rubbish is causing increasing logistical problems.

I can certainly sympathise with people who feel that a fortnightly rubbish collection is not sufficient to remove the refuse produced in this period by a family of five. I know that both of my local Labour led councils are evaluating ways in which they can maximise levels of recycling across the two metropolitan boroughs.

They will find this task much easier thanks to the draft climate change bill which locks into statute changes that will enable Britain to adapt with sufficient flexibility to the challenges that lie ahead.

I notice that the Liberal Democrat motion also calls for the government to  ‘tackle quickly the most rapidly growing emissions in the transport sector by a more steeply graduated vehicle excise duty and a rebasing of air passenger duty onto the emissions of each flight, offset by other tax cuts.”

It seems rather odd to me for the opposition to be calling on the government to do that which it is already doing. Vehicle taxes are already being altered to account for their varying levels of emissions. There would be no air passenger duty to speak of had this government not put one in place and as for other tax cuts I would be interested to know which spending commitments the honourable members opposite feel should be removed.

There is though one area in which I agree strongly with the motion tabled today. We have already established that the challenge of combating climate change begins at home. It is imperative that as elected representatives we make sure our own house is in order. We have to take steps to ensure that parliament is as energy efficient as possible, ideally it will, like all new homes, be carbon neutral within the next decade.

There is a raft of possible changes which could be made. I am told that last Christmas the house authorities used low energy lamps to light the Christmas trees. Whilst this is laudable I am sure we can all agree that combating climate change is for life, not just for Christmas!!

There are targets in place to cut government emissions by over 30% before 2020 but I believe we need to act with more urgency. This is an issue which can transcend party boundaries and I am in no doubt it would do a world of good for the Houses of Parliament to lead by example. This way we can avoid a ‘do as we say not as we do’ attitude.