Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department has taken to encourage large businesses to switch to carbon neutral energy sources.

The Department has taken significant steps to encourage large businesses to switch to carbon neutral energy sources. With regard to heat, the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) supports households, businesses, public bodies and charities in transitioning from conventional forms of heating to renewable sources of heat. In November, the Government renewed its commitment to the transition to a low carbon economy by confirming a continued budget for the RHI. The overall budget for the RHI is to rise from £430m in 2015/16 to £1.15bn in 2020/21.

With regard to electricity, our policies secured an estimated £42 billion of investment in low carbon generation between 2010 and 2014 alone, with more in the pipeline for the future.

Large and energy intensive businesses are incentivised to reduce their emissions – including through use of low-carbon energy sources – through the EU Emissions Trading System. The Government is also working with the eight most energy intensive sectors to produce decarbonisation action plans, drawing on a set of roadmaps published last year.

Of course, the lowest carbon energy is the energy that isn’t used and the Department also has a number of initiatives to encourage energy efficiency in business, including the announcements concerning a new carbon and energy reporting regime made by my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer at the Budget.

With regard to large businesses switching to carbon neutral energy sources for transport, that is ably supported by my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport.