Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of the sustainability criteria for the biomass electricity generation industry with the UK's domestic and international commitments on reaching net zero and restoring biodiversity, and whether they plan to change the criteria for generators to increase the proportion of woody biomass that must meet the sustainability criteria from 70 to 100 per cent.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government only supports the use of sustainable biomass and generators only receive subsidies for biomass that meets our strict sustainability criteria.
This Government is committed to enhancing sustainability, and the low carbon dispatchable CfD, announced earlier this month, increases the proportion of woody biomass that must meet the sustainability criteria from 70 to 100 per cent.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks of Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 3 December 2024 (col 1089) and his Written Answer on 6 February (HL4363), whether they have commissioned any independent research into the long-term sustainability of biomass electricity generation.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government works closely with a range of stakeholders including academia and independent experts to assist policy development around sustainability of biomass, ensuring that evidence informs long-term decision making. This has included commissioning several independent studies exploring the sustainability of biomass.
It has also included working with Ofgem and independent experts, alongside research gathered from engagement with industry and academia, to support development of strengthened assurance around the compliance of generators with sustainability criteria.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stating that they “do not automatically consider or assume biomass used for energy as ‘carbon neutral’, even in cases where the biomass is thought to be produced sustainably”.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This IPCC reference relates to guidelines on reporting biomass as ‘zero’ emissions at the point of combustion. Under the IPCC Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reporting framework, removals and emissions associated with growing bioenergy crops, land-use change, fertilization, transportation, etc are recorded against the relevant sectors.
As with any energy source, biomass is not carbon neutral when considering the full supply chain, but it can be low carbon. The UK only considers biomass to be low carbon if it meets sustainability criteria, which includes requirements around sustainable harvesting and maintaining forest productivity, as well as a GHG criteria to minimise supply chain emissions. We plan to consult later this year on the development of a common sustainability framework which aims to enable greater consistency across different biomass end use sectors and to strengthen criteria in line with latest evidence.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 3 December (HL Deb col 1089), what is the evidence that sustainably sourced biomass can provide a low-carbon and renewable energy source; whether that evidence has been produced by an independent organisation that does not have financial links to the biomass industry; and whether they will publish it.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Global institutions such as the IPCC, and the UK’s CCC recognise that bioenergy and BECCS can play a significant role in decarbonising economies and meeting net zero provided that appropriate policies are put in place to mitigate the use of unsustainable biomass.
The Government only supports the use of sustainable biomass and generators only receive subsidies for biomass that meets our sustainability criteria. We also plan to consult later this year on the development of a common sustainability framework which aims to enable greater consistency across sectors and to strengthen criteria in line with latest evidence.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence base they have used for their claim that the oil and gas industry supports 200,000 jobs, which subsectors are represented by that figure, and how many of those are (1) wholly, and (2) majority, reliant on the oil and gas industry.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The impact assessment for the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill uses figures from Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) 2022 annual workforce insights report to show how many jobs are supported by the Oil and Gas sector in the UK. This report highlights that there were approximately 200,000 jobs supported by the industry in 2021 and the report includes a breakdown of jobs by sector, and whether they are direct, indirect or induced.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the expected grade of the oil reserves in licensed but undeveloped fields in the North Sea basin; and what estimate they have made of the likelihood of the oil from these fields being used domestically in the UK as opposed to being exported.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The grade of oil in most undeveloped discoveries in the UK sector of the North Sea and elsewhere on the UK Continental Shelf would vary from field to field. The decisions around the sale of both crude and finished petroleum products are commercial decisions given the international nature of oil markets.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of oil and gas extracted from UK territorial waters was exported in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Due to the interconnected nature of gas pipeline infrastructure and the consequent mixing of UK continental shelf (UKCS) production and imports it is not possible to determine what proportion of indigenously produced gas is exported.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of oil and gas extracted from UK territorial waters was extracted by companies headquartered in the UK in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government does not specifically track the headquarters of oil and gas licensees operating on the UK Continental Shelf. However, it is a requirement that all licence holders must be UK registered, either as a company or as a branch of an overseas company.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of existing oil and gas fields within the UK’s territorial waters is owned by companies headquartered in the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government does not specifically track the headquarters of oil and gas licensees operating on the UK Continental Shelf. However, it is a requirement that all licence holders must be UK registered, either as a company or as a branch of an overseas company.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Net zero policy tracker: March 2023 update by Green Alliance, published on 17 March; and in particular, what assessment they have made of the finding that only 28 per cent of emissions reductions needed to reach net zero by 2050 are covered by confirmed policies.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Net Zero Growth Plan sets out the package that will meet carbon budgets. The Government has met every Carbon Budget to date and through the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan has set out quantified proposals and policies to exceed Carbon Budgets 4 and 5 and 97% of Carbon Budget 6.