Asked by: Lord Donoughue (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the additional greenhouse gas emissions reductions required to be made by remaining EU member states if the UK is no longer bound by a future Effort Sharing Decision in order to meet their collective 2030 target of a 40 per cent reduction of 1990 levels.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK’s commitment to tackling global climate change is firm. Until we leave, the UK will remain a full member of the EU, with all of the rights and obligations this entails.
We are at the start of what will be a long process of considering options and implications very carefully. However, as long as we are a full Member of the European Union, we will continue to participate in negotiations on EU2030 climate legislation, including the Effort Share Regulation.
Asked by: Lord Donoughue (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the capital cost of new-build offshore wind farms is rising or falling; and what impact that has had on cost estimates for the level of subsidy provided through the Levy Control Framework.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government’s last published levelised cost report shows offshore wind costs have fallen.
Support costs are determined by a combination of the Government’s view of generation costs and by competitive allocation. We expect both of these to further drive down support costs for future projects.
At Budget 2016, we announced that the reserve prices for offshore wind will fall from £105/MWh for projects commissioning in 2021, to £85/MWh for projects commissioning in 2026.
Asked by: Lord Donoughue (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the price paid per megawatt hour for (1) onshore wind, and (2) offshore wind, is higher in the UK or Germany; and how important the relative wind conditions are in determining those prices.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
It is not possible to directly compare support costs between the UK and Germany, as the design of the electricity markets and support schemes are different.
In the UK, support to large-scale renewable electricity generators is provided by the CFD Allocation Framework and has been awarded competitively through auctions.
The reserve price for each technology, known as the administrative strike price, is modelled on the basis of the Government’s best view of electricity generation costs.
These costs are calculated on the basis of capital costs, operating costs and the Government’s estimate of the expected volume of electricity produced.
For wind generators, expected generation is determined by both wind speeds and the amount of time turbines are expected to be unavailable due to maintenance.
Asked by: Lord Donoughue (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of world atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions China and India contributed in the latest period for which records are available.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
There are no official emissions estimates available for recent years for many developing countries, including India and China. One widely used 3rd party estimate is however available from the World Resources Institute CAIT dataset.
This data suggests that in 2012, the latest available year, China’s domestic greenhouse gas emissions (including land use, land use change and forestry, but excluding international aviation and shipping ) accounted for around 22% of the global total (25% for CO2 only).
India’s domestic greenhouse gas emissions (including land use, land use change and forestry, but excluding international aviation and shipping) accounted for around 6% of the global total (5% for CO2 only).
Asked by: Lord Donoughue (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the total investment costs per tonne of CO2 equivalent abated by the Clean Technology Fund has increased from £21.40 to £26.40 according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change's additional business case and intervention summary 2015; and what is being done to address rising costs.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Clean Technology Fund (CTF) approval decisions are based on six CTF Investment Criteria, of which cost-effectiveness is one. The total investment cost per tonne is estimated based on the portfolio of CTF projects that have been approved by the Trust Fund Committee. The original appraisal relied on the assessment of 30 individual projects approved by 2013, whereas the latest analysis is based on 57 projects approved by 2015. The total cost per tonne across the portfolio has changed as more projects have been approved, and will be expected to continue to change as the CTF portfolio increases, reflecting the range of projects included in the portfolio. As an example, sectors such as transport and energy efficiency typically have a higher cost per tonne than renewable energy projects. All projects deliver good value for money and wider benefits, such as private finance leveraged, jobs created, and increased numbers of people with access to energy.
In order to guarantee the continued value for money of the CTF, there is a robust project approval process ensuring compliance with the standards set out in the CTF investment criteria. As a contributor country the UK approves the allocation of CTF resources for programmes, projects, and administrative budgets; assessing new proposals to ensure continued the value for money (see attachment with further detail on the CTF governance structure).
Asked by: Lord Donoughue (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they still regard the risk of a funding shortfall in the Clean Technology Fund as "high", and whether contingency funds are in place in the case of premature sunsetting of the Climate Investment Funds.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Administrative Unit and Multilateral Development Banks have reviewed the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) pipeline to identify projects that are no longer likely to go ahead and have assessed the impact of this on the expected shortfall. A paper on this will be presented at the forthcoming June 2016 CIF Trust Fund Committee meetings.
A decision on when the CIF will review its sunset clause is expected to be made at the June CIF Trust Fund Committee meetings.
Asked by: Lord Donoughue (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the Department of Energy and Climate Change plans to spend on the Green Climate Fund in each financial year from 2015–16 to 2017–18.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Department of Energy and Climate Change contributed £80 million to the Green Climate Fund during the 2015-2016 financial year. DECC plans to contribute £80 million in FY 2016-2017 and £80 million in FY 2017-2018, dependent on the financial needs of the Green Climate Fund.
Asked by: Lord Donoughue (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Clean Technology Funds financial eligibility threshold of $200 per tonne of CO2 equivalent abated represents good value for UK taxpayers in the context of global mitigation effects.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
In order to ensure value for money, the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) Investment Criteria (2009) has six objectives, of which cost-effectiveness is one. The other objectives are Potential for GHG Emissions Savings, Demonstration Potential at Scale, Development Impact, Implementation Potential and Additional Costs and Risk Premium.
The financial eligibility threshold of $200 per tonne of CO2 equivalent is in place to safeguard value for money. This threshold was based on the International Energy Agency’s Energy Technology Perspectives 2008 Report, as the lower-end estimate of the marginal incentive needed to achieve a reduction of global GHG emissions to 50% by 2050. The average total investment cost per tonne achieved in the CTF is $39.60 (£26.40), which is significantly below this threshold.
More information is available in the document Climate Investment Funds (2009), Clean Technology Fund Investment Criteria for public sector operations.
Asked by: Lord Donoughue (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent on the International Climate Fund in each financial year from 2011–12 to 2014–15.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Spend under the International Climate Fund by the Department for International Development, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is as follows:
2011-12 - £427m
2012-13 - £548m
2013-14 - £788m
2014-15 - £911m
Asked by: Lord Donoughue (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many new coal-fired plants are planned by China and India over the next decade.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Table 7.2 of the International Energy Agency’s 2015 World Energy Outlook projects the following demand for coal under the Agency’s New Policy Scenario:
| 2013 | 2025 |
China | 2,932 | 2,957 |
India | 488 | 812 |
World | 5,613 | 5,874 |
Figures in Mtce – million tonnes of coal equivalent.