Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his Department will publish the evidential basis informing the decision to fund carbon capture, usage and storage clusters announced on 4 October 2024.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department plans to release the Full Business Cases (FBCs) for the two clusters next year, in line with the requirements for programmes in the Government Major Projects Portfolio.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential risks of investing in carbon capture storage technology.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has developed a risk management approach for monitoring the risks associated with investing in CCS technology. This approach follows government best practice and has been reviewed and approved by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s major projects gateway process. The Department has documented the material risks within the Full Business Cases for the two clusters. These FBCs have been reviewed and approved by the departmental investment committee and Major Projects Review Group, reflecting the fact that these bodies are satisfied that the programme’s approach to risk management is robust, and that the overall risk profile of the projects is consistent with the Department’s stated risk appetite.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had recent discussions with Ofgem on setting a timeline to bring heat network pricing in line with prices paid by other consumers.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Officials in my department have been working closely with Ofgem, ahead of the third and final, joint consultation on proposals for heat network regulation. This will include proposals on fair pricing. This consultation will be published in due course.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the press notice entitled Government reignites industrial heartlands 10 days out from the International Investment Summit, published on 4 October 2024, if he will publish a list of climate scientists consulted with by his Department on the efficacy of carbon capture storage.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
CCUS will be vital to this government’s commitment to create good jobs in Britain’s industrial heartlands, ensuring a just transition for the industries based in the North Sea, and accelerating towards Net Zero.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the UK’s independent advisor on climate change, has said that CCUS is a ‘necessity, not an option’ for the transition to net zero. The International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change both conclude that carbon capture can play a key role in decarbonisation.
The Government engages with a range of stakeholders during the policy development process.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent public consultation his Department has undertaken on the efficacy of carbon capture, usage and storage technology.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
CCUS will be vital to this government’s commitment to create good jobs in Britain’s industrial heartlands, ensuring a just transition for the industries based in the North Sea, and accelerating towards Net Zero.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the UK’s independent advisor on climate change, has said that CCUS is a ‘necessity, not an option’ for the transition to net zero. The International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change both conclude that carbon capture can play a key role in decarbonisation.
The Government engages with a range of stakeholders during the policy development process.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans he has to monitor the (a) carbon emissions and (b) water usage of data centres.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
(a) Emissions from data centres that occur in the UK - either directly at their locations or at power stations from their electricity use - are included in our published UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions totals, but cannot be attributed to specific data centres.
Data centres that are part of a quoted company, large unquoted company or large limited liability partnership are required to report on their emissions in their annual reports to comply with Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) policy.
(b) Water usage and its monitoring is overseen by the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring carbon capture, usage and storage organisations in receipt of Government funding to be (a) headquartered in the UK and (b) full UK taxpayers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We’re committed to securing the economic benefits for the UK from pioneering CCUS deployment. It is expected to add around £5 billion per year to the UK economy by 2050 and the backing of these first 2 CCUS sites sends a clear signal to investors that the UK is open for business. These new carbon capture and CCUS enabled hydrogen projects will create 4,000 new jobs and help sustain important British industries. Industry have also pledged to source 50 per cent of the supply chain from domestic companies.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring (a) financial institutions and (b) other FTSE 100 companies to include information on their employees' commuting emissions within planned publications on carbon footprints.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) policy requires quoted UK companies and large unquoted UK companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) to disclose specified energy and emissions (generally Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, with some limited Scope 3 requirements such as business travel for unquoted businesses) in their annual reports. The costs, benefits and practicalities of wider Scope 3 emissions reporting requirements - including employee commuting emissions – is being assessed to help inform the Government’s decision on whether to endorse the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards in the UK. The Government will provide more information in due course.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his Department will publish all written representations made by the Crown Estate on proposals for Great British Energy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
On 25th July Government published the Great British Energy Founding Statement, which outlined how the partnership between Great British Energy and The Crown Estate will bring forward and derisk new offshore wind developments, stimulate new technologies in new clean energy sectors and invest in ports and clean energy supply chains. We will set out further detail in due course, as the partnership develops.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of regulating embodied carbon to help meet net zero targets.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Last year, the Government consulted on the possible introduction of Mandatory Product Standards, in other words regulations to limit the embodied emissions of products.
In response, the previous Government set out it would not commit to introducing Mandatory Product Standards for any specific sector at that stage. Instead, it was planning to focus on introducing Voluntary Product Standards, which would be a necessary first step.
Voluntary Product Standards will establish definitions of low carbon products that can be used as a basis for policies such as green public procurement. The Government plans to consult on these standards in due course.