Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage water companies to become carbon neutral by 2030.

The Government is committed to protecting and enhancing our natural environment and reducing carbon emissions plays an important part in this commitment. The UK is the first major economy in the world to set a legally binding target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from across the economy by 2050. The Government is leading the way and engaging with industry, including the water industry, local government and the public to meet our targets.

Last year, English water companies became the first industry to make a collective commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2030, as part of the Public Interest Commitment by the industry body, Water UK. The Government welcomes the industry’s ambitious target and will be working closely with them to provide support to deliver on it.

Over the next five years, many water companies have made commitments in their business plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions and increase renewable energy. For example, Yorkshire Water will increase the amount of renewable energy it generates from biogas by 15%, and South East Water will reduce its carbon emissions by 68%.

Ofwat, the independent water regulator, has also challenged the industry to be more innovative and made available up to £200 million through an innovation competition. This is to incentivise water companies to collaborate with each other and with other companies in their supply chains to effectively address the challenges facing the sector in a cost-effective and sustainable way, such as reducing emissions and reaching net zero targets.

We hope the progress made by the water industry, as an energy-intensive infrastructure industry, will lead the way for other sectors to develop their own commitments through cross-sector collaboration and mutual learning.