Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 6 November 2018 to Question 186935 on Carbon Budgets: Climate Change, whether the Committee on Climate Change’s response to the IPCC report on 1.5 degrees will be permitted to include recommendations on amending the UK's third, fourth and fifth carbon budgets.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Committee on Climate Change’s (CCC) focus for this particular advice will rightly be on our long-term targets.
Although government has asked the CCC not to consider formally carbon budgets four and five as part of this commission, they have been asked for evidence on how reductions in line with the CCC’s recommendations might be delivered in key sectors of the economy.
If the CCC considers that the most effective way of communicating this information is through a cost-effective pathway (which could include the years captured by carbon budgets four and five), they may incorporate that information into their advice.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether (a) the Oil and Gas Authority and (b) his Department carried out an assessment on the potential effect on the climate of the development of the Alligin oil field before granting permission for that field to be developed.
Answered by Claire Perry
We are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. Greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors of the UK’s economy are taken into account when assessing our performance against the Carbon Budgets- this includes emissions from offshore oil production sites on the UK sector of the continental shelf.
As we continue to move to a low carbon economy we need to ensure we have a balanced energy mix so we have a reliable, clean and affordable energy system. This means that in the medium term there will be a role for some fossil fuels.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 5 November 2018 to Question 184876 on North Sea Oil, what assessment he has made of the effect of continued investment in new oil and gas on compliance with the timeframes set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Answered by Claire Perry
Oil and gas will continue to play an important role as part of the energy mix for decades to come. As we continue to move to a low carbon economy we need to ensure we have a balanced energy mix, so we have a reliable, clean and affordable energy system. This means that in the medium term there will be a role for oil and gas; currently over 85% of the population use gas for heating and around 65% for cooking, with UK Continental Shelf oil and gas production still equivalent to around half of demand.
We are leading the world in our response to the special report on global warming of 1.5°C – commissioning the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) for their advice on the implications of the Paris Agreement for the UK’s long-term emissions reduction targets, just one week after its publication. As part of this, we have requested that they provide evidence on how reductions in line with the CCC’s recommendations might be delivered in key sectors of the economy and we will consider their advice carefully when it is received.
As part of this, we have requested that they provide evidence on how reductions in line with the CCC’s recommendations might be delivered in key sectors of the economy and we will consider their advice carefully when it is received.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the decision to permit the development of the Alligin oil field by BP was taken by (a) the Oil and Gas Authority or (b) the Government.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Energy Act 2016 which established the Oil and Gas Authority as an independent company to regulate, promote and influence the UK oil and gas sector. The Oil and Gas Authority, in their role to regulate the sector, were responsible for taking the decision to permit the development of the Alligin oil field.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the decision to permit the development of the Alligin oil field by BP was taken by (a) the Oil and Gas Authority or (b) the Government.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Energy Act 2016 which established the Oil and Gas Authority as an independent company to regulate, promote and influence the UK oil and gas sector. The Oil and Gas Authority, in their role to regulate the sector, were responsible for taking the decision to permit the development of the Alligin oil field.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the oil to be extracted from the Alligin oil field will be (a) used in domestic markets or (b) exported.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Alligin field is due to start production in 2020, with the crude oil produced sold on the international market and therefore available for both export and domestic consumption depending on prevailing market conditions and commercial considerations. Trading oil on the international market is the best way to ensure reliable and affordable supplies for UK consumers. The Government remains committed to ensuring the UK gets the maximum economic benefit from its oil and gas reserves.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the compatibility between the Oil and Gas Authority's remit of maximising revenues from oil and gas recovery and (a) the Government's decarbonisation commitments under the Paris Agreement and (b) the recommendations of the IPCC on the speed of decarbonisation required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.
Answered by Claire Perry
Oil and gas will continue to play an important role as part of the energy mix for decades to come. We are committed to reducing carbon emissions form 1990 levels by 80% by 2050 and any emission from use of oil or gas will be included in our binding carbon budgets
As we continue to move to a low carbon economy we need to ensure we have a balanced energy mix, so that we have a reliable, clean and affordable energy system. This means that in the medium term there will be a role for oil and gas; over 85% of the population currently use gas for heating and around 65% for cooking, with UK Continental Shelf oil and gas production still equivalent to around half of demand.
We are leading the world in our response to the special report on global warming of 1.5°C – commissioning the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) for their advice on the implications of the Paris Agreement for the UK’s long-term emissions reduction targets, just one week after its publication.
As part of this, we have requested that they provide evidence on how reductions in line with the CCC’s recommendations might be delivered in key sectors of the economy and we will consider their advice carefully when it is received.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the development of the Alligin oil field will be included in the UK's carbon budget.
Answered by Claire Perry
We are committed to reducing carbon emissions from 1990 levels by 80% by 2050 and any emission from use of oil or gas will be included in our binding carbon budgets.
As we continue to move to a low carbon economy we need to ensure we have a balanced energy mix so we have a reliable, clean and affordable energy system. This means that in the medium term there will be a role for some fossil fuels.
Greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors of the UK’s economy are taken into account when assessing our performance against carbon budgets. This includes emissions from offshore oil and gas production sites on the UK Continental Shelf.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the oil to be extracted from the Alligin oil field will be (a) used in domestic markets or (b) exported.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Alligin field is due to start production in 2020, with the crude oil produced sold on the international market and therefore available for both export and domestic consumption depending on prevailing market conditions and commercial considerations. Trading oil on the international market is the best way to ensure reliable and affordable supplies for UK consumers. The Government remains committed to ensuring the UK gets the maximum economic benefit from its oil and gas reserves.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 26 October 2018 to Question 181237 on Carbon budgets: Climate change, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the fourth and fifth carbon budgets and place the UK on the steeper decarbonisation pathway recommended by the Committee on Climate Change.
Answered by Claire Perry
The UK was the first country to introduce long-term legally binding emission reduction targets through the Climate Change Act 10 years ago, and since then we have galvanised action and initiative across the UK and internationally, including helping secure the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015 and launching the Powering Past Coal Alliance.
The fourth and fifth carbon budgets require ambitious emissions reductions equivalent to 51% and 57% over the periods 2023-27 and 2028-32 from a 1990 baseline, and we have some of the most stringent legislative targets in the world.
Following the recent IPCC report, we commissioned advice from the Committee on Climate Change on our long-term targets. As noted by the CCC, this may include an update of their advice on the most cost-effective pathway for emission reduction. We will consider that advice carefully when it is received.