Carbon Emissions

(asked on 1st July 2021) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the attainment of net zero (a) in the UK and (b) globally of the exclusion of firm low-carbon power from the Government's Green Financing Framework.


Answered by
John Glen Portrait
John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This question was answered on 7th July 2021

The government recognises that reaching net zero emissions by 2050 will require power to be generated from low carbon sources. As set out in the Government’s Energy White Paper last autumn, nuclear power will play an important role in achieving net zero. EDF’s Hinkley Point C project will be the first nuclear plant in a generation and power up to six million homes once operational.

Some energy sources have been excluded from the UK Government Green Financing Framework, including nuclear energy. This is in line with current international market standards for sovereign green bonds, it does not represent an assessment of what the Government considers ‘green’ or affect an expenditure’s eligibility for traditional financing instruments. We will review the framework on a regular basis with the aim of adhering to best practices in the market.

The Government is developing a UK green taxonomy, which will create a shared understanding of which economic activities count as environmentally sustainable and will establish an Energy Working Group to provide expert advice on the treatment of energy in the taxonomy, including nuclear power.

The Government expects therefore that the energy market and the attainment of net zero in the UK and globally will be unaffected by any exclusions set out in the Green Financing Framework.

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