Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make a comparative assessment of the potential impact of (a) the Drax power station and (b) renewable energy sources on UK carbon emissions in the last five years.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) publishes UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions statistics. They can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/final-uk-greenhouse-gas-emissions-statistics-1990-to-2023

DESNZ also publishes carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels reported by industrial sites, including those covered by the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion at the Drax site can be found here: https://naei.energysecurity.gov.uk/data/maps/emissions-point-sources, https://reports.view-emissions-trading-registry.service.gov.uk/ets-reports.html

UK reporting is consistent with international guidelines established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which require CO2 emissions from the combustion of biomass to be accounted for in the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector of the country in which the biomass was harvested, rather than at the point of release to the atmosphere.