Lord Hunt of Chesterton

We recognise the UNFCCC as the only place where a legally binding international agreement could be delivered at the scale necessary to meet the challenge of climate change, given its universal coverage and legitimacy. As such, we are working with countries to intensify domestic preparations for the new deal and want as many as possible to put forward contributions to the UNFCCC by the first quarter of 2015, which set out how they are going to achieve their commitments on post-2020 mitigation. Alongside this we are working closely with UN institutions and relevant international agencies to assess how different international actors can best support an ambitious deal in Paris.

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is currently funding research into Arctic permafrost through the Arctic Research Programme and the Joint Programming Initiative – Climate (JPI-Climate). The Arctic Research Programme is undertaking research on the release of greenhouse gases from permafrost and how these emissions will influence global warming, and on the interaction between permafrost, greenhouse gases and vegetation in the Arctic:

http://arp.arctic.ac.uk.

JPI-Climate is a collaboration between 14 European countries. They are researching uncertainties in the permafrost-climate feedback, and biogas production from permafrost:

http://www.jpi-climate.eu/news-events/news/ninecollaborativeresearchprojectsawarded.

The Met Office is working with the University of Exeter and the Centre of Ecology and Hydrology to improve the representation of permafrost within the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator, the land surface scheme of the UK Earth System Model (UKESM). The UKESM is a collaboration between NERC and the Met Office.

Information over the past 5 years for public sector research establishments (PSREs) that have been privatised is not collated against the headings requested. The 7th Survey of Knowledge Transfer Activities in Public Sector Research Establishments (PSREs) and Research Councils, prepared by Warwick Economics and Development Ltd (July 2014) for BIS, found that reported income from commercialisation activities including business consultancy for PSREs has increased ‘dramatically’, particular in the last three years.

DECC’s most recently published figures for the levelised costs of electricity generation for different technologies are available in the DECC Electricity Generation Costs (December 2013) report:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/269888/131217_Electricity_Generation_costs_report_December_2013_Final.pdf

Table 1 below is taken from this report, and shows a range of levelised cost estimates for nuclear offshore wind, solar photovoltaic, and gas projects commissioning in 2014 and 2020 at technology specific hurdle rates (pre-tax real). Estimates are not published for nuclear projects commissioning in 2014, or coal projects without carbon capture and storage commissioning in 2014 or 2020 given there will be no new projects commissioned in this timeframe. DECC does not publish cost estimates for nuclear fusion.

Table 1: Levelised cost estimates for different technologies, technology specific hurdle rates, sensitivities around high/low capital costs

* CCGT: Combined Cycle Gas Turbine

The levelised cost of a particular generation technology is the ratio of the total costs of a generic plant to the total amount of electricity expected to be generated over the plant’s lifetime (per megawatt hour). Levelised cost estimates are highly sensitive to the assumptions used for capital costs, fuel and EU ETS allowance prices, operating costs, load factor, discount rate and other drivers and this means that there is significant uncertainty around these estimates. Estimates of levelised costs differ from the retail electricity prices that are paid by consumers (i.e. on delivery of electricity).

Estimates of the levelised costs of electricity generation for different technologies are published by DECC. The levelised cost of a particular generation technology is the ratio of the total costs of a generic plant to the total amount of electricity expected to be generated over the plant’s lifetime (per megawatt hour). Where relevant, estimates of electricity generation make an allowance for weather conditions based on estimates of when the relevant energy source is expected to be available, on average, over a plant’s lifetime (load factors). This is the case for intermittent renewable technologies such as onshore wind and solar photovoltaic.

Levelised cost estimates also depend on other assumptions, including capital costs, fuel and EU ETS allowance prices, operating costs, discount rates and other drivers. This means that there is a range around levelised cost estimates.

The DECC Electricity Generation Costs (December 2013) report contains DECC’s latest levelised cost estimates.

All civil servants across UK have access to e-learning, online resources and classroom courses via Civil Service Learning. These allow civil servants at all levels in central, devolved and regional governments and major government agencies, to work and learn together.

In addition, for senior leaders, there are several academies within Government such as the Commissioning Academy and the Major Projects Leadership Academy, which bring together leaders from across the public sector and support their collaboration.

Public sector procurers are required to seek value for money through fair and open competition and Government will always award contracts on the basis of the best value for money for the taxpayer.

Crown Commercial Service manages a framework agreement for the supply of diesel, petrol and electric powered vehicles which Government departments use to meet their vehicle requirements.

Departments decide which fuel is most appropriate based on their individual requirements including whole life costs and may access advice and guidance from Crown Commercial Service as appropriate.

We work collaboratively with other countries to tackle climate change in a variety ways including via multi-lateral fora and global alliances.

We work on climate via the G7 and G20; we promote ambitious action alongside other countries via the High Ambition Coalition and we drive collective action on the ground through, for example, our hosting of the world’s first zero emission vehicle summit; and creation of Powering Past Coal Alliance, to reduce emissions from the most polluting fuel, which now has over 70 members. We play a key role within the UN Climate Framework, helping secure the agreement of 195 countries to sign up to the historic Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 and then bringing it to life last year at COP24 via the creation of a common rulebook. We are also working with our UN partners to ensure the Secretary General’s Climate Summit in September 2019 brings together key international actors, across the public and private sectors, to drive transformative action on building resilience to climate change.

UK leadership is reflected in the actions of other countries. For example, we were the first country to introduce long-term legally binding emission reduction target, which has now been emulated across the world, including by France, Denmark, Sweden and Mexico

The Department periodically reviews the evidence base on the generation costs of renewable electricity technologies, including their operational lifetimes, and when appropriate publishes reports on the topic. The most recent of these publications can be found on the gov.uk website, and a copy is also attached here.

The UK’s oldest offshore windfarm, Blyth (off the coast of Northumberland), was commissioned in 2000 and is still in operation today. The world’s oldest offshore windfarm, Vindeby in Denmark, was decommissioned in 2017 after 25 years of operation.

The Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult has a programme of work looking at lifetime asset management and has recently announced an operations & maintenance centre of excellence in collaboration with the University of Hull.

The Department reviews generation performance of a range of existing and new renewables plants, including onshore and offshore wind, on an annual basis as part of setting the level of the Renewables Obligation. The most recent publication can be found here (copy also attached):

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewables-obligation-level-calculations-201819

The Department periodically reviews the evidence base on the generation costs of renewable electricity technologies, including their lifetimes, and when appropriate publishes reports on the topic. The most recent of these publications can be found here and attached (copy also attached):

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/beis-electricity-generation-costs-november-2016

The Government’s strategy is to seek a close association with Euratom, to the mutual benefit of the UK and the EU, and to provide maximum continuity for the civil nuclear sector. The components of this future relationship with Euratom are subject to negotiations with the EU. The UK will also seek to fully associate itself with the Euratom Research and Training Programme, including the Joint European Torus (JET) and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), and recognises that such an association would necessarily involve an appropriate financial contribution in line with other associated countries.

The UK’s Permanent Representative to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) is actively engaged in discussions around the WMO budget, strategic plan and governance reform, with appropriate support from the UK Hydrological Adviser. The UK will remain closely involved in the ongoing assessment of options and the development of proposals over the next 12 months, up to the World Meteorological Congress in May - June 2019, where they will be further discussed and decisions made.

In March, the UK and EU negotiation teams reached an important milestone in the Brexit process by agreeing the terms of a time-limited implementation period, which provides for UK entities’ continued access to EU programmes, including Horizon 2020, for their duration.

Furthermore, as my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister said in her Mansion House speech, we want to establish a far-reaching science and innovation pact with the EU, facilitating the exchange of ideas and researchers. This could include continuing to cooperate through specific policies and programmes that are greatly to our mutual advantage.

The most substantial areas that we are interested in exploring include Framework Programme 9, Euratom Research and Training and the Copernicus programme. Specifically, we would like the option to fully associate to these programmes – we feel that this is in our joint interests. The scale and strength of the UK’s research and innovation is such that we should be looking for a bespoke relationship. We would like to discuss the details as soon as possible.

The Government has been clear that shale development must be safe and environmentally sound.

The Government believes that early engagement is vital with communities who may host shale gas developments and we acknowledge that public confidence in the process is important to the success of the industry. We are continuously working with the regulators to ensure that the public understand how our regulatory regime works, and with the industry to encourage effective engagement which addresses local communities’ concerns.

The Government has not conducted a specific scientific assessment of the statements by the World Meteorological Organization regarding the devastating effects of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma on low-lying Caribbean islands and the USA, and possible links between these storms and human-made climate change.

The mechanics of tropical cyclones and how they interact with our changing climate is extremely complex. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there is a greater than 50% chance that human-induced warming over the next century will lead to an increase in the frequency of intense tropical cyclones in some areas and there is strong evidence that increasing sea temperatures increase the intensity of tropical storms when they develop. Heavier rainfall is also expected as global temperatures rise because a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture. Additionally, rising sea levels increase the risk of coastal flooding as hurricanes make landfall.

This Government wants the UK to be the go-to place for researchers, innovators and investors across the world. This is why we are increasing research and development investment by £4.7 billion over the period 2017-18 to 2020-21, an increase of around 20% to total government R&D spending, more than any increase in any parliament since 1979.

We would welcome an agreement to continue to collaborate with our European partners on major science, research, and technology initiatives. On 6 September we published a future partnership paper on collaboration on science and innovation. As part of our ambition for a new deep and special partnership with the EU, recognising our shared interest in maintaining and strengthening research collaboration, the UK will seek an agreement that promotes science and innovation across Europe now and in the future.

While we remain a member of the EU, UK businesses and universities should continue to bid for competitive EU funds, and we will work with the Commission to ensure payment when funds are awarded. The Government will underwrite the payment of such awards, even when specific projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU. This includes awards that are bid for before exit that are successful after exit.

Science and research are vital to our country’s prosperity, security and wellbeing. This Government wants the UK to be the go-to place for innovators and investors across the world, and we intend to secure right outcome for the UK research base as we exit the European Union.

We have a world class research base and world beating universities and businesses that mean the UK life sciences will continue to thrive. As shown by the recent investment decisions by GSK, Alnylam and Novo Nordisk, the UK remains open for business.

The Government is committed to ensuring the UK remains a world leader in international research and innovation, including medical research.

The UK underlined our commitment to the Paris Agreement at the G7 Environment Ministers’ meeting earlier this month and at the EU Foreign Affairs and Environment Affairs Councils last week, where, along with European partners, we were clear that we deeply regret the US decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.

We welcome the continued support that the Paris Agreement has received from other political parties here in the UK, other countries, and subnational and non-state actors in the US and around the world. We will continue to work with the US to encourage them to show the leadership they have in the past on reducing carbon emissions.

We will continue to work through the G20, and other international fora, to promote the swift and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement. For example, the Government remains committed to the success of the Green Climate Fund as the key new vehicle for helping developing countries adapt to climate change and follow low carbon development paths. Besides the US, 42 Governments have pledged funding to the GCF, including Germany, France, Sweden, Mexico and Colombia.

In the Autumn Statement 2016 the Government announced that we will make Britain the global go-to nation for scientists, innovators and tech investors, by investing an extra £2 billion a year in R&D by 2020/21.

This Government intends to secure the best possible outcome for the UK research base as we exit the European Union. We would welcome an agreement to continue to collaborate with our European partners on major science, research, and technology initiatives. However, whatever happens in the future, the Government is committed to ensuring the UK remains a world leader in international research and innovation.

Whilst this Government does recognise that countries will make their own judgments about how best to contribute to and maintain the scientific record, we fully acknowledge the importance of the integrity of the scientific record. We place significant value on science and evidence-based policy making and we will continue to advocate transparent and open scientific data sharing with our international partners.

At present, it would not be appropriate to comment on specifics without further evidence of the reports being made. The UK and the US do however have a long and successful history of working together on a wide range of scientific and technical disciplines. The UK-US scientific partnership is one of the world’s strongest - nearly 30% of the UK’s international co-authored papers are with the US, producing an impact 50% higher than the UK research base average. We expect this collaboration to continue long into the future.

Her Majesty’s Government is committed to tackling global climate change. We play a leading role internationally and we are delivering on our commitments to create a safer, more prosperous future for us all.

As he stated in the House of Commons on 28 March, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised climate change during his recent visit to Washington. My hon. Friend the Minister for Energy and Industry also raised it during his visit to the United States including during his meeting with Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said in her speech in Philadelphia earlier this year, climate change does not respect national borders and so is a challenge best faced by leading together, including through multinational institutions, like the United Nations (UN), that encourage cooperation and partnership.

We remain committed to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change process, the Paris Agreement and the institutions that underpin it such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. These bodies are invaluable in coordinating global efforts to tackle climate change and ensuring that these efforts are based on robust scientific and economic analysis.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is an international organisation, rather than an institution of the European Union. ESA programmes will continue to play an important role in delivering UK national space objectives and, in December 2016, the UK negotiated an investment of more than €1.4 billion over the next five years in ESA space initiatives. The UK will continue to collaborate with Russia through our subscription to ESA. The UK’s membership of the European Space Agency will not be affected by the UK leaving the EU and does not therefore require new legislative measures. The Draft Spaceflight Bill is intended to establish a national regulatory framework to enable launch from the UK.

The Government is committed to strengthening the worker voice in the boardroom. The Government’s green paper on Corporate Governance Reform explored a range of options for strengthening the worker voice. The Government will publish its response in due course after analysing the responses it has received.

Details on the naming of storms over the UK and Ireland, together with all the latest information about storms in the UK, are available on the Met Office website at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/barometer/uk-storm-centre.

We have ensured that strong controls are in place to mitigate seismic risks. Operators in the UK must avoid hydraulically fracturing near faults, and must monitor seismic activity before, during and after operations. Operations will halt if seismic activity exceeds a magnitude of 0.5 or greater on the Richter scale, and the pressure of fluid in the well will be reduced immediately.

Studies in the United States⁽¹⁾ have shown that most induced seismicity is caused by re-injection of waste and produced waters from oil and gas operations, both conventional and unconventional. Re-injection of waste and produced waters will not be permitted from shale gas wells in the UK.

(1) http://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/induced/myths.php

The Arctic Council plays a key role in gathering and acting on evidence about environmental change in the region. As an Observer State, the UK engages periodically with the Arctic Council’s Black Carbon and Methane Expert Group, including through submitting its National Report on Enhanced Black Carbon and Methane Emissions Reduction in 2015. This was done alongside seven other nations and the EU.

In October 2016, scientists from UK, Russia, EU and Arctic Council countries met. One of the main issues discussed was the consequence of thawing permafrost in Russia. A key outcome of the discussions will be the development of a roadmap for future research, monitoring and collaboration.

The Government recognises the importance of understanding change in the Russian Arctic and looks forward to seeing valuable new opportunities arising from the new Agreement on Enhancing Arctic Scientific Cooperation reached by the Arctic States this year. This is expected to be signed and come into operation in 2017. The Government will continue to support UK scientific engagement with the Russian Arctic through the work of the Natural Environment Research Council Arctic Office and others.

The referendum result has no immediate effect on students abroad under the Erasmus scheme or applying for 2016/17. Payments will be made in the usual way. Access to the programme after we leave the EU is a matter for the forthcoming negotiations. Consideration of other options will depend on the outcome of these negotiations.

The average tenure of Ministers for Trade & Investment from 2011 until the departure of my noble Friend Lord Maude in March 2016 is 628 days or approximately 1 year, 8 months.

The average tenure of Ministers for Trade & Investment between 2006 and 2011 was 342 days or approximately 11 months.

This Government is committed to tackling emissions from international aviation, international shipping and agriculture and forestry.

As inherently transnational in nature, international aviation and maritime emissions are regulated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and are outside of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement. The UK is working through the ICAO and IMO to develop mechanisms which deliver emissions reductions, in line with the long term goal agreed in Paris of keeping average global temperature rise well below 2 degrees. In 2016, the ICAO is set to agree a global market based measure, to offset emissions post-2020. The UK government is engaged in this process.

The Government is also committed to tackling emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and supporting the enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+). The UK played a key role in the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests, which set ambitious targets for halving (by 2020) and halting (by 2030) the loss of natural forests and eliminating deforestation from the production of key agricultural commodities by 2020. The new UN Sustainable Development Goals, agreed in September 2015, also include targets to halt deforestation, sustainably manage and restore natural forests, and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally by 2020. At COP21 the UK endorsed a Leaders’ Statement on Forests which recognised the importance of these goals, as well as the progress on REDD+ under the UNFCCC.

Improving the quality of our air and reducing carbon emissions are important priorities for Her Majesty's Government. Later this year we will be publishing detailed plans on how we will deliver against Carbon Budgets, including information about how these measures can also support air quality objectives. Further information on the synergies across these policy objectives was outlined in DEFRA’s air quality plan, Improving Air Quality in the UK - tackling nitrogen dioxide in our towns and cities, December 2015.