Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, which consultations (a) published and (b) inherited by her Department are awaiting a response; and when she plans to publish each of those responses.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has inherited or published 35 consultations, for which a response by the department is still outstanding:
The Department will respond to each in due course.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to develop a net zero road map for the haulage industry.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to supporting the haulage industry to reach net zero. You may recall, in June 2022, this government published the first-ever cross modal and cross-government plan for the UK freight transport.
The Future of Freight Plan committed to a series of actions to support the decarbonisation of the freight sector and work is currently underway to deliver a strategy for the rollout of zero emission HGV infrastructure. This will support the haulage sector to achieve net zero.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to use revenue raised through the increase in car tax from 1 April 2024 to support (a) public transport and (b) environmental initiatives.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Consolidated Fund receives the proceeds of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) and most other tax revenues. VED is being reinvested into the English road network between 2020-2025 to fund road enhancement projects. The Government uses the tax system to encourage the uptake of cars with low carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to help meet our legally binding climate change targets.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made representations to HM Treasury on the inclusion of imported electricity in Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism taxation.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Electricity generation was not included within the initial sectoral scope of the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), announced in December 2023. The approach aligns with free allowance allocations, under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which are not provided to electricity generators.
In making the decision, the government looked primarily at three factors: inclusion in the UK ETS, carbon leakage risk, and feasibility and effectiveness.
The sectoral scope of a UK CBAM will remain under review. The design and delivery of a CBAM is subject to consultation, closing on 13 June 2024.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of the level of carbon emissions produced by electricity (a) generated and (b) imported to Great Britain from the EU in (i) 2015, (ii) 2020 and (iii) 2023.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
(a) Greenhouse gas emissions estimates from electricity generation in Great Britain in 2015 were 100.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e). In 2020, emissions from electricity generation in Great Britain were 46.6 MtCO2e. This includes emissions from major power producers, but not emissions from companies generating their own electricity.
Estimates for 2023 for Great Britain will be published in 2025.
(b) The UK Government has not produced estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from the generation of electricity imported from the EU to Great Britain as these are not within the geographical scope that it is required to report on.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made the potential role of kinetic energy floor tiling in decarbonising the British energy supply.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department has not made any assessment of the potential role of kinetic energy floor tiling in decarbonising the British energy supply as the power output achievable is very small compared to the total power requirements of the UK.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will (a) develop and (b) implement an updated net zero shipping strategy.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is actively preparing to release a refreshed Clean Maritime Plan in Spring 2024.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of the proportion of (a) coal, (b) gas fired, (c) nuclear and (d) renewable generated electricity which is imported into Britain via interconnector each year.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not hold data estimating the proportion of imported electricity generated from each fuel type. Total electricity imports by country are published in Energy Trends table 5.6.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when her Department plans to publish the next National Renewable Energy Action Plan.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The National Renewable Energy Action Plan was a requirement under the Renewable Energy Directive which no longer applies to the UK. The Government publishes its proposals and policies to enable carbon budgets to be met, including the role of renewable energy in reducing emissions, in the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan. The last plan was published in March 2023. The next will be published as soon as reasonably practicable after setting the level of Carbon Budget 7. The statutory deadline for setting the level of Carbon Budget 7 is the end of June 2026.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to encourage property developers to incorporate net zero measures in planning applications.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer the Honourable Member to paragraph 157 of the National Planning Policy Framework.