Oral Answers to Questions

James Cartlidge Excerpts

Tuesday 21st March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

22. What fiscal steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support the economy in reaching net-zero carbon emissions.

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (James Cartlidge)]

At the spending review 2021, we confirmed that since March 2021 the Government will have committed a total £30 billion of public investment for the green industrial revolution. Since then, the Government have made new announcements to provide long-term certainty on our investment plans, including £6 billion for energy efficiency from 2025 and up to £20 billion for carbon capture, usage and storage. The Government will set out further action shortly to support green industries in the UK and meet our net zero 2050 commitment.

[Catherine West]

Yesterday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published its report on the latest data, warning that the world is fast approaching irreversible levels of global heating. Why is the Treasury still giving energy companies an easy ride through lucrative loopholes in the energy windfall tax? The Treasury should be prioritising investments in renewables so that over time, our bills can come down.

[James Cartlidge]

This country should be proud of our record, which has seen emissions fall faster in this country than in any country in the G7—down 44% since 1990—but we have to balance that against energy security. Surely, if there is one thing we have learned from what has happened with Ukraine’s invasion by Russia, it is that we need to maximise domestic energy production. The investment allowance in our windfall tax is not a loophole; it is there precisely to incentivise investment so that we maximise domestic energy production.

[Alex Cunningham]

While the sector would have liked more, I welcome the £20 billion over 20 years for carbon capture, use and storage in the Budget. Will the Minister now confirm that the Teesside-Humber project will go ahead and how additional clusters will be selected through the track-2 process?

[James Cartlidge]

I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman for his consistency—he raised this with me on Thursday in my winding-up speech on the Budget debate. As I said then, we will announce further details soon, but I can confirm that I will be meeting the Carbon Capture and Storage Association tomorrow. I look forward to the meeting. This is an incredibly important step forward, because we must remember that carbon capture does not just give us clean energy, but enables heavy industry to decarbonise.

[Jeff Smith]

Why does the Chancellor not rewire local economies by taking inspiration from President Biden and backing Labour’s policy for a national wealth fund to support half a million new jobs this decade?

[James Cartlidge]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising the Inflation Reduction Act; I hope we all welcome what the United States is doing, because the climate is a global phenomenon and, if we are to make progress, we need the United States and other countries to do their bit. Let me be clear: we should be proud of our record to date and confident in our future, because we have huge competitive advantages on green industry. We have a brilliant record to date, we have the shallow North sea, where we have developed the biggest coastal array of offshore wind in the whole of Europe, we have a brilliant scientific base and, with the City of London and our financial institutions, we should be confident about our green future.

[Stephen Morgan]

The Institute of Directors has warned that

“the UK will find itself left behind in the accelerating race to lead the green economy.”

After a lacklustre Budget, does the Minister agree?

[James Cartlidge]

To give just one example of why we should be confident, last year 40% of our electricity came from renewables. The figure in the United States was 20%. We have a very strong record, but we are going to keep building on it. That is why we announced the £20 billion for carbon capture and storage and why we announced Great British Nuclear, because we need that baseload power to go alongside renewables and give us energy security.

[Richard Fuller (North East Bedfordshire) (Con)]

The truth is that it is under this Conservative Government that the greatest strides have been accomplished in harnessing the British economy to achieve net zero, with the leadership of COP26, the establishment of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, and the introduction of corporate reporting on carbon emissions for our major corporations. Will my hon. Friend work with British business to continue that progress and ensure that we can all move forward successfully to achieve net zero?

[James Cartlidge]

My hon. Friend speaks with passion, experience and expertise, and he is absolutely right. Of course we work closely with investors and business—one key example is the contracts for difference regime. Last July, we had the largest ever allocation of contracts through the contracts for difference process, contracting about 11 GW of clean power, which is enough clean energy for 12 million homes. That is a huge step forward, and it shows that we are delivering on net zero. As a party, we will balance that with energy security so that we learn the lessons of the last 12 months.

[Virginia Crosbie (Ynys Môn) (Con)]

Ynys Môn is known as energy island. It has wind, wave, tidal and solar, and will have, I hope, new nuclear at Wylfa. For more than three years, I have campaigned for Anglesey to be a freeport, which would turbocharge the island’s economy and help the Government to deliver net zero. We are due to hear from the Welsh Government and the UK Government by early spring on whether our island’s bid has been successful. It feels like early spring in my Holyhead garden. Does it feel like early spring in the Chancellor’s garden?

[James Cartlidge]

My hon. Friend’s constituency is an island, and she is its rock—there is no doubt about that; she champions these issues consistently. I am assured that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury is giving careful consideration to her proposition, and that just underlines that she has been a champion for her constituency. By delivering on our green plans, we can generate green jobs and green investment in every part of the United Kingdom, including Wales.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Abena Oppong-Asare (Erith and Thamesmead) (Lab)]

As my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South (Stephen Morgan) just said, the Institute of Directors has warned that

“the UK will find itself left behind in the accelerating race to lead the green economy.”

The Confederation of British Industry says that we are investing five times less in green industries than Germany—five times less. Meanwhile, the United Nations issues warnings of a climate disaster. Where is the urgency and action from the Conservatives to decarbonise our economy and win the global race for green jobs?

[James Cartlidge]

What the IOD actually said about the Budget was that it was “hugely encouraging”, and I strongly agree. We have an extraordinary track record—the fastest-falling emissions in the whole of the G7 and extraordinary success in offshore wind—but we want to go further. That is why we have announced £20 billion for carbon capture and storage, and we will soon announce many more positive measures.

[Yasmin Qureshi (Bolton South East) (Lab)]

12. If he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential economic impact of creating a regeneration fund to support the conversion of brownfield former industrial sites into mixed-use properties.

--- Later in debate ---

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

Industry stakeholders have been clear that Ministers must now focus on long-term solutions to support people with ongoing high energy prices through improved home energy efficiency. What steps will Ministers take to support households with the rising costs of energy in the long term?

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (James Cartlidge)]

The hon. Lady makes an excellent point. We have put in place a huge amount of support to help people through this immediate challenge with their energy bills, but we do need to think long term. That is why the Chancellor has put in place the 15% target to reduce energy consumption in both domestic and non-domestic buildings, but alongside that, and crucially, we have to increase the supply of UK energy, both renewables and in the North sea.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) (Con)]

Thanks to the quick thinking and quick moves by the Chancellor, the Prime Minister and the Treasury, the tech sector was saved from almost certain oblivion, and at no cost to the taxpayer. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that he is still ambitious for the tech sector, and can he confirm that the merger with HSBC will ensure that our fantastic tech sector, especially our start-ups, will have access to the funding they need?