Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether a second meeting of the Climate Security Taskforce will take place in 2026.
Answered by Katie White - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Taskforce on the National Security and Resilience Risks of a Changing Climate and Nature Loss met for the first time on 20 October 2026. A summary of the meeting can be found on GOV.UK. The Taskforce will not formally convene again in 2026. Its next meeting will be in early 2027.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Climate and Security Taskforce is still seeking new membership or whether the 'full list of members' on the Taskforce website is now fixed, and no new members are being sought.
Answered by Katie White - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The full membership of the Taskforce on the National Security and Resilience Risks of a Changing Climate and Nature Loss is published on GOV.UK. The Taskforce will continue to seek wider expertise and perspectives as appropriate to support its work.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Climate Security Taskforce will be publishing its 'Assessment of key gaps in the UK government response to the risks posed by climate change and nature loss', described as a 'deliverable' on the Taskforce website.
Answered by Katie White - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The assessment will be an outcome from the Taskforce on the National Security and Resilience Risks of a Changing Climate and Nature Loss’s work. The Taskforce has held its first meeting and will continue to develop its assessment through subsequent work. Further information on the outcomes of the Taskforce’s work will be published in due course.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will publish a) the list of attendees at the first meeting of the Climate Security Taskforce which met on Tuesday 20th October, and b) the minutes of the meeting.
Answered by Katie White - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The membership of the Taskforce is publicly available on GOV.UK,. The Taskforce meetings are held in confidence to support candid and independent discussion. Regular updates to the public will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the extent to which its Contract for Difference with Lynemouth Power Station complies with the Environmental Principles within the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Before agreeing the Low-Carbon Dispatchable Contract for Difference with Lynemouth Power Station, the Department assessed the proposed subsidy against the requirements of the Subsidy Control Act 2022, including the energy and environmental principles. The Department also referred the proposal to the Competition and Markets Authority's Subsidy Advice Unit in accordance with the requirements of the Act and considered its recommendations before finalising its assessment. The Secretary of State concluded that the subsidy was consistent with the energy and environment principles.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has (a) had any communication with the Environment Agency regarding Lynemouth Power Station's March 2026 derogation request and (b) made any assessment of said derogation request.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Environment Agency (EA) is an independent regulator and DESNZ is not involved in its decisions regarding any applications. DESNZ has not discussed Lynemouth’s request to extend its existing derogations with the EA.
Lynemouth’s environmental permit status, including relevant derogations at the time, were considered prior to award of the new Contract for Difference (CfD) on 8 July 2026. Lynemouth will be required to deliver continued compliance with the terms of existing and future environmental permitting, alongside the CfD generation and sustainability requirements.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Government plans to take steps to balance its updated emissions estimates of data centres with the decarbonisation required in the fifth carbon budget.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Growth in data centre electricity demand is inherently uncertain and, where additional electricity demand does materialise, the UK’s rapidly decarbonising power sector will help to mitigate the emissions impact.
We will continue to test a range of data centre growth trajectories to ensure we meet our carbon budgets, as we form our next carbon budget delivery plan. We will also monitor emerging demand, to inform where further mitigation or system adjustments may be required.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure transparency over contract terms agreed with Lynemouth under new low-carbon dispatchable power arrangements.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are in discussions with Lynemouth Power Station to assess whether a Low Carbon Dispatchable Contract for Difference agreement could appropriately support security of supply and deliver value for consumers. Should we proceed following a full internal decision-making process with an agreement the core elements of the Heads of Terms will be announced prior to the publication of the full contract in due course.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2025 to question 90099, what his evidential basis is for Drax's policy of not sourcing material directly from old growth areas; and whether his Department has the same definition of old growth forest as Drax.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s definition of old-growth forest is set out in the terms of the new Low-Carbon Dispatchable Contract for Difference published by the Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC) on 1 December. From 2027 there is no reliance on any other definition for determining eligibility subsidy.
Any breaches of the contractual restriction on sourcing biomass directly from old-growth forest will result in significant financial penalties and could lead to termination of the contract for serious or repeated breaches. The contract also contains strengthened Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) measures, and gives LCCC powers to conduct audits throughout the biomass supply chain.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that new contracts for biomass do not lead to long-term reliance on imported feedstocks.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is for generators to ensure they can source sufficient biomass to meet generation requirements and sustainability standards set out in Government support schemes.
The new low-carbon dispatchable CfD with Drax incorporates strengthened sustainability standards, including a reduction in the allowable supply chain emissions threshold from 50gCO2e/MJ to 36.6gCO2e/MJ, regardless of where material is sourced.
The UK does not have sufficient forest capacity to meet current and projected short-term demand for bioenergy feedstocks. The majority of biomass imported currently is a byproduct of the wider timber industry.