Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in the context of the weight given by Mr Justice Holgate to the advice of the Climate Change Committee in the judgment on the case of Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth, Good Law Project vs. Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy handed down on 18 July 2022, if he will follow the Committee's guidance in relation to delivering on the UK’s carbon budgets.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Government Ministers always carefully consider the Climate Change Committee’s advice. The Climate Change Committee described the Net Zero Strategy as ‘an ambitious and comprehensive strategy that marks a significant step forward for UK climate policy’, and as ‘the world's most comprehensive plan to reach Net Zero’. It also stated that ‘It follows the transparent process for developing climate policy set out in the UK’s Climate Change Act’ and that ‘The Net Zero Strategy fulfils the requirement in the Act for the Government to present policies and proposals to meet the UK’s emissions targets’.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason it was not reported to Parliament that the quantified policies in the Net Zero Strategy are projected to deliver approximately 95 per cent of the emissions reductions needed to meet the sixth carbon budget.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Net Zero Strategy included a mix of quantified and unquantified policies. Depending on which accounting methodology would be adopted as the international standard at COP26, shortly after the Strategy’s publication, the quantified policies were projected to deliver either ~95% or, as under the now agreed standard, over 100% of the emissions reductions needed for the sixth carbon budget. It is also inherently difficult to quantify the emission reductions that a particular policy will generate over time.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish his conclusions from the public consultation on improving the energy performance of privately rented homes.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is reflecting on the feedback received to ensure the policy is fair to both landlords and tenants. The Government will publish a response in due course.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the judgment of the hon. Mr Justice Holgate in the case Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth, Good Law Project vs. Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy handed down on 18 July 2022, what his Department’s timeframe is for laying the required report before Parliament.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As was made clear in the court hearing, there is no shortfall in emissions reductions needed to meet the sixth carbon budget. Under the international standard accounting methodology adopted at COP26, shortly after the Strategy’s publication, the quantified policies were projected to deliver over 100% of the emissions reductions needed to meet the sixth carbon budget. The order accompanying the judgment states that the Government must lay a report before Parliament by no later than 31 March 2023. The Government is seeking permission from the Court of Appeal to appeal the judgment.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the judgment of the hon. Mr Justice Holgate in the case Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth, Good Law Project vs. Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy handed down on 18 July 2022, what steps his Department is taking to produce a report which is (a) compliant with section 14 of the Climate Change Act 2008 and (b) includes a quantified account of the emissions reductions that the policies in the Net Zero Strategy will deliver.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As was made clear in the court hearing, there is no shortfall in emissions reductions needed to meet the sixth carbon budget. Under the international standard accounting methodology adopted at COP26, shortly after the Strategy’s publication, the quantified policies were projected to deliver over 100% of the emissions reductions needed to meet the sixth carbon budget. The order accompanying the judgment states that the Government must lay a report before Parliament by no later than 31 March 2023. The Government is seeking permission from the Court of Appeal to appeal the judgment.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the judgment of the hon. Mr Justice Holgate in the case Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth, Good Law Project vs. Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy handed down on 18 July 2022, what steps he is taking to ensure that the revised report (a) closes the measured shortfall in emissions reductions needed to meet CB6 and (b) provides the necessary information explaining how policies will credibly deliver those emissions reductions.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As was made clear in the court hearing, there is no shortfall in emissions reductions needed to meet the sixth carbon budget. Under the international standard accounting methodology adopted at COP26, shortly after the Strategy’s publication, the quantified policies were projected to deliver over 100% of the emissions reductions needed to meet the sixth carbon budget. The order accompanying the judgment states that the Government must lay a report before Parliament by no later than 31 March 2023. The Government is seeking permission from the Court of Appeal to appeal the judgment.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the judgement of the hon. Mr Justice Holgate in the case Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth, Good Law Project vs. Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy handed down on 18 July 2022, for what reason the Energy Minister approved the Government’s Net Zero Strategy without the necessary information on how it would meet the carbon budgets as required under section 13 of the Climate Change Act 2008.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Information on how the policies and proposals will meet the carbon budgets was provided when the publication of the Net Zero Strategy was approved. It was the consideration of Mr Justice Holgate that the policy-by-policy quantification carried out by officials ought to have been before Ministers, rather than the same information aggregated at the sector level. Ministers considered that the combination of the analysis provided and the additional detail summarised by Departmental officials gave sufficient confidence that the policies and proposals would enable the carbon budgets to be met. The Government is seeking permission from the Court of Appeal to appeal the judgment.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2022 to Question 165 on Coal Authority: Climate Change, if he will make it his policy to revise the duties of the Coal Authority in respect of licensing, as set out in the Coal Industry Act 1994, to act in accordance with the UK’s obligations under international climate treaties, including the (a) Paris Agreement and (b) Glasgow Climate Pact.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to phasing out coal from electricity generation by 2024. Demand for new coal licences has fallen away as a consequence, and there are only a small number of potential coal projects that could result in new coal mining, and only with the consent of the relevant planning authorities.
The Government keeps the Coal Authority’s duties under review, but in view of the low demand for new coal extraction projects, there are currently no plans to revise the duties with respect to licensing coal extraction.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to (a) the commitment on page 7 of his Department’s fuel poverty strategy Sustainable warmth: protecting vulnerable households in England, published on 11 February 2021 and (b) his answer to the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion on Tuesday 7 June 2022, Official Report, column 654, whether his Department is on track to deliver on the £2.5 billion Home Upgrade Grant by the end of 2019 Parliament.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Government spending reviews have, to date, committed around £6.6bn to decarbonising heat and buildings during the lifetime of this Parliament.
Of this, HM Treasury has allocated £1.1bn to the Home Upgrade Grant, for delivery to 2025. £500m of this money – which is providing energy-efficiency upgrades to lower-income, energy-inefficient homes - has already been granted to local authorities as part of the Sustainable Warmth competition. The Government will continue to work with local authorities to reach as many households as possible.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answers of 18 May 2022 to Questions 166 and 167 on Coal Fired Power Stations, if he will define the ranges of (a) slightly extending the life of remaining coal-fired power stations and (b) a minimal impact on (i) national and global CO2 emissions and (ii) consumers’ energy bills.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Agreements recently concluded between the Electricity System Operator and Drax and West Burton coal plant will expire on 31st March 2023. Discussions on Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station are still live, and costs associated with these contracts are confidential while negotiations are ongoing. The impact on consumers’ energy bills is expected to be minimal.
Generation units subject to the contracts will only be dispatched if required by the System Operator to manage exceptional energy security risks. The Government is confident of meeting its Carbon Budget emissions obligations, and remains committed to phasing out unabated coal generation in Great Britain by October 2024.