Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 10 September (HL634) stating that they are monitoring ongoing research into the collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, what assessment they have made of recent research papers that suggest collapse is a possibility this century such as 'Probability Estimates of a 21st Century AMOC Collapse' by Smolders, van Westen and Dijkstra.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Recent papers on the collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) provide a range of views on the likelihood, extent and timing of potential changes in AMOC. They provide useful evidence on this rapidly evolving area of science; they do not represent a significant update to the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report is the most comprehensive assessment of climate science to date and determined that there is a high likelihood of the AMOC weakening in the 21st century, but an abrupt collapse is unlikely (although not impossible) in this timeframe.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of any slowing or collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation on their economic planning.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has not assessed the effect of any slowing or collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) on economic planning. The Sixth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has determined that there is a high likelihood of the AMOC weakening in the 21st century, but an abrupt collapse is unlikely in this timeframe. The Government is monitoring ongoing research into how AMOC might change in the future and what impacts that would have.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - 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 licensing of new offshore oil and gas with their commitments under (1) the Paris Climate Agreement, and (2) the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is reducing demand for oil and gas but will still need it for years to come. The independent Climate Change Committee has recognised this transition cannot happen overnight. The Government implemented the Climate Compatibility Checkpoint to assess whether new domestic hydrocarbon licensing is compatible with the UK’s climate targets. New licenses do not involve any slowing of the UK’s transition to net zero.
The environmental impact of offshore developments is subject to rigorous regulatory assessment by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning, including a full environmental impact assessment and consultation with statutory nature protection bodies and the public.