Fossil Fuels: Carbon Emissions

(asked on 26th October 2021) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the contribution of fossil-fuel reliant companies to the UK’s transition to net zero; and what steps he is taking to ensure that those companies contribute to the costs of managing pollution, with reference to public debt.


Answered by
Greg Hands Portrait
Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This question was answered on 3rd November 2021

As set out in the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, the costs of net zero must be shared fairly between the taxpayer, industry and its customers. HM Treasury’s Net Zero Review considers the potential exposure of businesses and households to the transition, and highlights factors to be taken into account when designing policy that will allocate costs over this time horizon.

The Government has already established a UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) which demonstrates the UK’s commitment to carbon pricing as an effective tool that will help fulfil our climate change objectives. The UK ETS will be the world’s first net zero cap and trade market, delivering a robust carbon price signal and promoting cost-effective decarbonisation by allowing businesses to cut carbon where it is cheapest to do so.

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