Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks of omitting Scope 3 emissions from Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures reporting; and what plans they have to mandate Scope 3 emissions reporting for UK businesses.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In October 2021, the Government laid regulations to require climate-related financial disclosures from certain UK-registered companies. The regulations do not duplicate pre-existing greenhouse gas emission disclosure requirements under Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR), which require large or quoted UK companies and large Limited Liability Partnerships to make disclosures on energy use and emissions in their Annual Reports. Scope 3 emissions reporting is not currently required by either set of regulations.
The discussion around better alignment between SECR and the TCFD recommendations, and the potential to require Scope 3 disclosures formed a part of our UK Government consultation on mandatory climate-related financial disclosures, which concluded in May 2021. Any changes to the SECR regime to require scope 3 disclosures will require a separate consultation process, and would need to take into account the costs and benefits to business of mandatory scope 3 reporting. Any changes would also need to take account of the introduction of the proposed UK Sustainability Disclosures Requirements (SDR) Regime, as set out in Greening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investment published on 18th October 2021; and the requirements introduced in the June 2021 Procurement Policy Note that require mandatory disclosures of scope 1, scope 2 and a subset of Scope 3 emissions in carbon reduction plans when bidding for major government contracts.
Following COP26, our main ask of business is to join the UN’s Race to Zero. Companies with this kitemark commit to cutting emissions across all three scopes in line with a 1.5C pathway, with clear reporting and transparency mechanisms.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of those who have been moved to a new energy supplier due to their own supplier ceasing to trade were previously on a green tariff and have now been transferred to a non-green tariff.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We do not hold information on which tariff these customers were on with their previous supplier.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the meeting on 28 June with the Norwegian Energy Minister and state-owned oil and gas company Equinor regarding the bilateral energy relationship, why an announcement was made ahead of the publication of the Hydrogen strategy of Equinor’s 1.8gw target for fossil fuel hydrogen.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy met with the Norwegian Energy Minister in Oslo to discuss ways to build back better from the Coronavirus pandemic and tackle climate change. They signed a Joint Statement reaffirming the importance of the bilateral energy relationship between the countries.
The Joint Statement marks a new phase of cross-border energy cooperation between the UK and Norway. The statement celebrated the completion last month of the construction of the North Sea link interconnector and announced that the UK and Norway are close to concluding a historic bilateral treaty on electricity interconnection. It also signalled both countries’ commitment to work together on future opportunities to support our economies’ transition to clean, green energy.
Both Norway and Equinor already play a valuable role in the UK’s energy supply. Equinor has major existing investments in wind and hydrocarbon projects on the UK Continental Shelf.
Equinor announced their latest plans for potential investment in low-carbon hydrogen production separately, following the Joint Statement. Equinor are one of several companies looking to invest in low carbon hydrogen projects in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why emissions from international aviation and shipping are not included in the draft Carbon Budget Order 2021.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has laid legislation for the UK’s sixth carbon budget and this marks a decisive step towards net zero by 2050. It builds on the series of ambitious plans we have announced since committing to net zero emissions in law, including through my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan and our new UN climate target to reduce emissions in 2030 by at least 68% compared to 1990 levels – the highest reduction target made by a major economy to date. We have committed to include international aviation and shipping emissions in the Sixth Carbon Budget and will bring forward legislative proposals in due course.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish regulations under section 30 of the Climate Change Act 2008 to include emissions from international aviation and shipping in the Sixth Carbon Budget.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has laid legislation for the UK’s sixth carbon budget and this marks a decisive step towards net zero by 2050. It builds on the series of ambitious plans we have announced since committing to net zero emissions in law, including through my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan and our new UN climate target to reduce emissions in 2030 by at least 68% compared to 1990 levels – the highest reduction target made by a major economy to date. We have committed to include international aviation and shipping emissions in the Sixth Carbon Budget and will bring forward legislative proposals in due course.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to include indirect non-CO2 climate impacts of aviation, such as climate forcing caused by condensation trails, in the UK's Emissions Trading Scheme.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) currently captures CO2 emissions on domestic UK flights, flights from the UK to the EEA and flights between the UK and Gibraltar. We recognise that there is a case for expanding carbon pricing, especially given that the UK ETS will be the world’s first Net Zero carbon cap and trade market, a crucial step towards achieving the UK’s target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The Government continues to support work on aviation’s non-CO2 emissions, and possible mitigation measures, taking into account their trade-offs with CO2 and the importance of ensuring that the sector’s total climate impact would be reduced. The Government keeps non-CO2 emissions under review and reassesses the UK’s policy position as more evidence becomes available.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment the FlyZero initiative, announced on 20 July, has made of the research by D S Lee et al The contribution of global aviation to anthropogenic climate forcing for 2000 to 2018, published in volume 244 of Atmospheric Environment, which found that non-CO2 effects contribute approximately two-thirds of aviation-induced warming; and what steps, if any, they have taken to adjust the work of that initiative in the light of this research.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The FlyZero project will investigate the commercial and technical feasibility for a zero-carbon emitting aircraft. A much wider sustainability agenda is at the core of the planned aircraft studies. Beyond tail-pipe carbon emissions, FlyZero will consider full lifecycle sustainability, including other sources of environmental impact, such as non-CO2 effects.
The FlyZero team have considered the work of Prof. Lee et al, in addition to many other publications and work, such as modelling and data, from UK and international experts on the topic of non-CO2 impacts. This includes the European Commission report: “Updated analysis of the non-CO2 climate impacts of aviation and potential policy measures pursuant to EU Emissions Trading System Directive Article 30(4)” released in December 2020.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - 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 they can support local authorities to work together in granting permissions across multiple council areas for automated goods movement systems.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s Code of Practice for automated vehicle trialling allows trials with a safety driver to take place anywhere in the UK if carried out in line with UK law. The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles works closely with local authorities and regional transport authorities across the UK that are looking to safely trial automated vehicle technologies.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to enable below surface automated delivery systems to be built in UK cities.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is monitoring industry work in this area. In 2019, the Department for Transport published the Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy, which established principles for facilitating innovation in urban mobility for freight, passengers and services. The Strategy ?sets out the Government’s support for innovation that encourages more efficient movement of goods, reducing congestion and improving environmental outcomes.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the opportunities for urban fulfilment centres to connect warehousing and factories to urban customers using automated delivery systems.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the potential benefits of automation for the movement of people and goods. Since 2015, the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles has enabled joint government and industry investment of £440m into UK connected and automated mobility technology.
The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles has engaged with the connected and automated mobility, logistics and manufacturing sectors to understand potential use cases of automation in delivery systems.