(Con): My
Lords, there is a lot in what the noble Viscount, Lord Stansgate,
says. In our discussions with the Americans, are we urging them
to pump and export more oil? We are urging the Saudis to do so,
as are the Chinese. If we are following this path, could
Ministers explain more clearly to the public that, although we
are all in favour of long-term energy transformation away from
fossil fuels, in the short term these measures are necessary, not
only to put a squeeze on Russia over Ukraine but to avoid the
hideous spikes in prices and energy costs that at present are
causing so much suffering to so many people, particularly the
most vulnerable?
The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Office () (Con): Again,
I agree with my noble friend, which is why my right honourable
friend the Prime Minister visited the Middle East. The immediate
issue is one of energy security and of ensuring that the whole
world moves totally away from reliance on Russian energy,
particularly Russian gas. There are countries that are heavily
reliant on Russian gas. We applaud the decisions taken recently
by, for example, Germany in pausing the Nord
Stream 2 project. Equally, we are seeing very
strong collaboration and collective action to ensure that, from
the point of view of both the global community and our own
citizens, the issue of energy security remains a key priority.
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