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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the judgment of the hon. Mr Justice Holgate in the case Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth, Good Law Project vs. Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy handed down on 18 July 2022, what his Department’s timeframe is for laying the required report before Parliament.

As was made clear in the court hearing, there is no shortfall in emissions reductions needed to meet the sixth carbon budget. Under the international standard accounting methodology adopted at COP26, shortly after the Strategy’s publication, the quantified policies were projected to deliver over 100% of the emissions reductions needed to meet the sixth carbon budget. The order accompanying the judgment states that the Government must lay a report before Parliament by no later than 31 March 2023. The Government is seeking permission from the Court of Appeal to appeal the judgment.