Electricity: Decarbonisation

Debate between Baroness Meacher and Lord Callanan

Wednesday 21st December 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

The noble Viscount is absolutely right—SMR technology is something that we are supporting. We have given hundreds of millions of pounds-worth of support to Rolls-Royce, which is looking actively at how it can roll that out. It has great potential for the future, both in this country and in its export capacity.

[Baroness Meacher (CB)]

Germany and France use compulsion to ensure that large buildings and building complexes such as car parks, industrial estates and retail parks install solar panels on their huge roofs. I do not think that we want compulsion in this country, but can the Minister assure the House that the department has a policy to ensure that this incredibly valuable opportunity to help save the planet is actually used across the nation, perhaps with incentives such as feed-in tariffs or grants?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

I remind the noble Baroness that we have the smart export guarantee scheme to encourage precisely that. The good news is that we have already 14 gigawatts of solar installed capacity in the UK and a fourth CfD allocation round for another 2 gigawatts of ground-mounted solar awarded contracts. The Chancellor recently removed VAT on solar panels, and on solar panel and storage packages. We are doing a lot in this area. Solar is a cheap and versatile source of power, which we should encourage.

Energy Bill [HL]

Debate between Baroness Meacher and Lord Callanan

Committee stage
Monday 19th December 2022 Grand Committee

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

If the noble Baroness is asking me whether I think that there is an advantage to insulation schemes, the answer is of course yes. I am not sure what her question is, but insulation is a great thing.

[Baroness Meacher (CB)]

Finally, if the Minister can bear it, can he tell us in writing whether he feels that these small community schemes could in fact deliver 10% or so of the UK’s electricity energy; and what estimate he has made of the feasibility of reducing all these technical regulatory constraints, which cost so much at the very beginning? He will understand that, if you are going to make a profit, you have to invest up front. Small schemes are unlikely to be able to make that initial investment but it may well be a tremendous bonus to the country in the longer term if the Government were able to help them reduce all these costs at the outset. It would be helpful to have all that set out in a letter if the Minister is able to do so.

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

I am of course happy to set out to noble Lords the details of our position in writing. We want to reduce bureaucracy as much as possible but we have an overriding need to ensure the stability of the energy system. Certain technical requirements need to be met by these schemes. We want to encourage them as much as we possibly can, but that comes with limits. We will certainly write with as many details as we can provide.

Russian Oil and Gas Imports

Debate between Baroness Meacher and Lord Callanan

Monday 7th March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

That is a very wide-ranging question. I think I would disagree with the noble Lord: I think Putin is a bigger threat at the moment to worldwide peace and stability. The important thing to bear in mind with regard to climate change, which is of course an important subject, is the tiny percentage of global warming caused by our emissions in the UK, which are rapidly decreasing. It is something that we need to work on, on a global basis; just eliminating our emissions on our own is really not going to make any difference.

[Baroness Meacher (CB)]

My Lords, I very much agree with the various points already made, but in the light of the Ukrainian crisis, have the Government got serious plans to bring forward and radically increase investment in green hydrogen development? If they do have such plans, will the Minister write to me with the details and put a copy of the letter in the Library?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

We have a very ambitious hydrogen strategy and it is perfectly possible that hydrogen will be one element of our campaign to decarbonise the UK economy. We will shortly be moving towards a hydrogen business model and we will attempt to roll out hydrogen production. However, again, no decisions are imminent, and it will be a few years before we know the full potential that hydrogen can offer.

Covid-19: Impact of No-deal Brexit on Vaccine Supplies

Debate between Baroness Meacher and Lord Callanan

Wednesday 16th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

I can reassure the noble Baroness that there will be no disruption to supply. We have put in place extensive measures to avoid any impact on the supply of essential medicines, in addition to the vaccine, beyond the end of the transition period. The Department of Health and Social Care has put a huge amount of planning work into this, so I think that her concerns are unfounded.

[Baroness Meacher (CB) [V]]

My Lords, considerable concerns have been expressed about the likelihood of shortages of medicines in the event of a no-deal Brexit. I understand that the Government have done a lot of analysis of the expected impact of no deal. Will the Minister place in the Library the results of that analysis with respect to shortages of medicines if we leave the EU without a trade deal?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

As I just told the noble Baroness, Lady Ludford, we have put robust contingency arrangements in place; a huge amount of planning has gone into it and we are confident that there will be no disruption to medical supplies.

Energy: Hydrogen

Debate between Baroness Meacher and Lord Callanan

Thursday 17th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

The noble Lord is entirely correct that a number of other countries are developing hydrogen strategies. However, the Government believe that the UK is currently well placed and in the leading pack internationally. We are keeping pace with international developments and leading in a number of international fora on this subject.

[Baroness Meacher (CB) [V]]

My Lords, when around 80% of UK households have gas heating systems and these systems account for about 30% of the UK’s CO₂ emissions, will the Government’s hydrogen strategy include a commitment to introduce hydrogen-ready boilers for 2025? This would not only support our net-zero targets but sustain and create thousands of jobs, since we are of course home to companies such as Worcester Bosch and Baxi, which are making world-first hydrogen boilers.

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

The noble Baroness is entirely correct. We are planning to publish a heat and buildings strategy in due course, setting out the immediate actions we will take. We are already working with Baxi and Worcester Bosch, the companies she mentioned, on hydrogen-ready boilers. These have been developed under a £25 million pot of funding, which BEIS provided.

Emissions: Housing

Debate between Baroness Meacher and Lord Callanan

Monday 22nd June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan [V]]

My noble friend is entirely right. As the holders of the incoming presidency of COP 26, the Government will continue to press for much greater ambition around the world to reduce emissions, build resilience, co-operate and support each and every country.

[Baroness Meacher (CB) [V]]

My Lords, in response to the Minister’s reply to the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, and his encouraging reference to hydrogen, does he agree that the UK Government urgently need a UK-wide hydrogen strategy which includes sustainable domestic heating, transport and energy-intensive industry? Germany is about to confirm such a strategy, and many other countries are doing the same. Will the Government respond positively to the hydrogen industry’s campaign to have this important strategy? Companies are willing to invest £1.5 billion in it if the Government are behind them. Will he talk to key people about their plans?

[Lord Callanan [V]]

Of course. I am always willing to have meetings with stakeholders and others about this important area. As I said in response to a previous question, we continue to investigate with other people—for instance, boiler manufacturers—how hydrogen can contribute to our climate goals in the future. It is an important point to make.

Oil: Changes in Global Markets

Debate between Baroness Meacher and Lord Callanan

Thursday 21st May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan]

We understand that this is a troubling time for this vital sector for the economy. We are in regular contact with the industry. It is taking advantage of our unprecedented financial recovery packages and we will continue to monitor the situation.

[Baroness Meacher (CB)]

My Lords, as the economy picks up following the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK, with its considerable technical knowledge, has an opportunity to lead the world in producing sustainable energy. The Minister referred to contacts with other countries. Can he say a little more about those contacts, which will help to ensure that we benefit from this extraordinary situation?

[Lord Callanan]

As well as maintaining contacts with other countries, we invest considerable funds in helping countries in the transition and in promoting their domestic carbon reduction targets. The noble Baroness makes an important point and we will keep that in mind.

European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019

Debate between Baroness Meacher and Lord Callanan

Thursday 26th September 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Meacher (CB)]

My Lords, returning to the question that the Opposition Front Bench asked—which was not answered—in the interests of transparency, can the Minister simply confirm that any communication to the European Union that in any way contradicted a request for an extension would be contrary to the spirit of the law?

[Lord Callanan]

I thank the noble Baroness for her question. I am not going to get into speculating on hypotheticals or what might happen under various scenarios, but we will always comply with the rule of law.

Brexit: Economic Analyses

Debate between Baroness Meacher and Lord Callanan

Wednesday 24th January 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan]

My noble friend makes an important point. We are conducting a wide range of analysis on all possible scenarios, but we still remain of the view that a deep and comprehensive partnership between ourselves and the EU is manifestly in both our interests. Therefore, that is where we think we should end up.

[Baroness Meacher (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister will be aware that the Electoral Commission was undertaking an investigation into the role of Russia in the Brexit referendum. Can the Minister convey to the House whether the Government yet have the results of that investigation, or indeed, whether they are undertaking their own investigation? If Russia had a major impact on that referendum, it raises questions about how Parliament should react.

[Lord Callanan]

I am sorry, but I do not agree with the noble Baroness. It is the reddest of red herrings to try to cast doubt on the referendum result. I have no knowledge of what investigations the Electoral Commission is undertaking, but I am certainly not aware that the Government are undertaking any such studies.