Draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2023

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Tuesday 21st November 2023 General Committees

[Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Gary. I rise only to ask a few questions, simply because the Minister was so sterling in directing what he was running through that he did not allow me to catch his eye to intervene at the point that his colleagues did. I am sure that was an oversight on my part and that I did not signal strongly enough.

Emissions do not stop at borders, so it is of concern to many of us that the Minister has set out what the SI might do but not clarified how it might interact with other emissions trading schemes, and in particular what the European Union is doing. My hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Test, was much more eloquent and patient than I will be about the fact that the EU has its own system of trading and that, clearly, whatever we do will interact with that. Could the Minister set out how those two systems, in particular, will interact? What progress has been made on the commitment in the 2019 TCA that “serious consideration” would be given to linking them? Has he been serious? Has he considered it? The SI does not suggest that, but that does not mean he is not having conversations. Surely he could set that out.

More fundamentally, I wish to speak up for British steel, which will be directly impacted by this legislation; indeed, it has called for the Government to answer questions arising from the SI. I hope that I speak for all of us in the room in saying that we recognise the value to our national security and our climate change objectives of having a national steel industry. I understand the industry’s concerns about this legislation and the fact that, without support, the free allowances will not lead to the sustainability of the British steel industry. I hoped that we might hear some answers today, but the Minister did not mention the word “steel”. I am sure he will wish to correct that in responding to the debate. The industry thinks it will take nine years to decarbonise British steel at this rate; without support, the 2026 deadline could lead to the end of British steel and all the concerns that might arise from that.

In particular, the industry perceives a lack of leadership on the European carbon border adjustment mechanism and how it interacts with the ETS. The Minister did not mention Europe at all. I am sure that was an oversight rather than a deliberate omission. As I said, he did not mention steel either. Again, I am sure that was an oversight rather than a deliberate omission. Will he address both those issues and reassure us that he stands proudly with British steel, just as he recognises that emissions do not stop at borders?