Energy Markets

Lord Fuller Excerpts

Monday 9th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

I very much welcome my noble friend Lord Foulkes back to his place, as it were. Although he was speaking from a place that is slightly remote, I nevertheless have a real feeling that he is, in essence, in the Chamber with us this evening.

I absolutely endorse what my noble friend had to say on this subject. After all, nuclear is low-carbon, essentially renewable, essentially homegrown and stays with us for a very long time—and, in case anyone had not noticed, this is firm power. Having nuclear in our low-carbon arsenal is very much part of the process of getting ourselves off high-carbon fossil fuels and into a situation where we can control our own energy destiny in this country.

My noble friend will know that work is under way to procure a small modular reactor with Rolls-Royce, which is going very well, and there is the possibility of life extensions to one or more of the existing nuclear power stations, which, again, would be a very good contribution to the energy security of this country for the future.

[Lord Fuller (Con)]

My Lords, this is the week in which the well-meaning but naive approach to net zero finally hit the buffers. It is not just oil—I should know, as a 40-year veteran of the fertiliser industry—it is the gas that produces ammonia and the CO₂ that drives our economy forward. There is no domestic production of ammonia or fertilisers any more; we are reliant on the kindness of strangers. A third of the world production of fertilisers is now stranded beyond the Strait of Hormuz at the moment the crops need it the most. The reality is that farmers will pay a quarter more for their fertiliser immediately, driving food price inflation on beer, bread, biscuits and butter, just like in 2022.

But there is worse. I know that the UK’s cement and steel industries need support for the CBAM. But, from 1 January, farmers will see the prospect of fertiliser going up by a further 25%, turning a calamity into a food security catastrophe. Will the Minister urgently review the fundamental basis for the CBAM, to stop this food disaster being visited on our shores?

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

The noble Lord talked about the CBAM and ammonia production in one and a half breaths. On the question of the CBAM, it is a very important part of the low-carbon economy in terms of making sure that there is not carbon seepage from our economy elsewhere and that the low-carbon industry that is being developed is not undermined by rogue dumping and various other things in this state from elsewhere. The CBAM is certainly an important part of the green transition, not an impediment to it.

As far as ammonia is concerned, I am sure the noble Lord knows that there are ways to produce it for the UK market other than relying on gas for it. Certainly, low-carbon ammonia can be quite a substantial chemical for the future. That is, of course, not something that will happen overnight but, clearly, as the noble Lord said, we have no ammonia production in this country on a high-carbon basis, so perhaps we should encourage it on a much lower-carbon basis.