Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to help achieve net zero.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
The Church Commissioners are committed to reducing the carbon intensity of their portfolio by 2025 and, as a member of the Asset Owners Alliance, reaching ‘Net Zero’ in the investment portfolio by 2050.
The General Synod has set a target for the Church of England to become Net Zero by 2030. The National Church Institutions are supporting every diocese with a grant to grow capacity and employ staff to manage the work of achieving this net zero ambition. The Church Commissioners have committed funding of £30m for 2023-25 and £190m total for a 9-year programme from 2023-31.
Stage one will explore the best ways to decarbonise the diverse range of buildings and navigate planning and governance structures. The project will assess cathedrals and clergy housing, with demonstration churches that can act as showpieces of what is possible. There will be a special grant available from dioceses to enable churches to fund improvements to their energy efficiency.
A second workstream supports schools in accessing public sector decarbonisation funds, and another stream of grants will match local fundraising in churches for net-zero carbon projects through the Buildings for Mission scheme
This will provide a clear picture of the kinds of projects that are effective in reducing emissions, ready for a scaled-up investment in the second 3-year period
Recent success stories include York Minster and the Chapel at Kings College, Cambridge, which have joined many other major churches and cathedrals across the country in installing new solar panels and renewable technologies, reducing their running costs and making them more sustainable buildings.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she plans to take steps to ensure that (a) towers and (b) blades for offshore wind farms are manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises that the development of a competitive and sustainable supply chain is crucial to its ambition to deliver up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030, including up to 5GW of floating offshore wind.
The Government is working with industry through the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) on priorities for supply chain development, with the aim of securing strategic investments for the offshore wind supply chain.
The UK already has significant blade manufacturing facilities for offshore wind: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy’s facility at Hull, and Vestas’ facility on the Isle of Wight.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help encourage the use of canals and rivers; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our inland waterways are an important national heritage asset. Benefits of inland waterways include biodiversity, pleasant routes for active and sustainable travel, physical and mental health, water stewardship, recreational benefits, water-borne freight and renewable energy. The waterways networks host utilities including broadband cabling, as well as playing a key role in system-wide flood risk management, land drainage and water supply.
We published our Environmental Improvement Plan in January 2023 and will work across government to deliver against its commitments, including to “continue to work with navigation authorities as appropriate, recognising the value of access to blue space, particularly within inner city environments. For example, announcing future funding for the Canal and River Trust to support local access improvements and awareness.”
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that British International Investment supports decarbonisation overseas.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
As part of its Climate Change Strategy, British International Investment (BII) takes an active approach in supporting decarbonisation. BII invests in mitigation solutions across Africa and Asia including renewable energy, low carbon transport, climate smart agriculture, forestry, climate technologies and the deployment of green finance via financial intermediaries. BII supports its investees to reduce emissions and increase their resilience both through investment capital and through technical advisory support.
BII is committed to reaching net zero emissions in its investment portfolio by 2050 in a way that supports decarbonisation and sustainable development in the real economy. More details about BII's approach to decarbonisation can be found in BII's Taskforce on Climate related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) disclosure and Annual Reviews.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
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 it his policy to provide incentives for rural households dependent on oil to heat their homes to change to a renewable liquid.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has no current plans to provide incentives for the use of renewable liquid fuels in rural households. Sustainable biomass is a limited resource and must be prioritised for use where there are the fewest options to decarbonise and the potential emissions reductions are greatest. The Biomass Strategy, which will be published later this year, will improve the Government's understanding of the supply of renewable liquid fuels. Policy decisions on the role of renewable liquid fuels in heating will need to reflect this Strategy.
Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has considered the potential merits of promoting the use of hydrogenated vegetable oil for domestic heating.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is currently investigating what role renewable liquid fuels such as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil could play in the future low carbon heating mix. As sustainable biomass is a limited resource, the Government believes that the use of biofuels in heating is likely to be limited to properties where heat pumps cannot be used. The Government will prioritise its use in sectors that offer the greatest opportunity to reduce emissions, and where there are fewest options to decarbonise through alternative low carbon technologies.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department's biomass strategy will set out policies for using (a) waste wood and (b) other renewable baseload power generators to increase energy security.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The biomass strategy will review the amount of sustainable biomass materials, including waste wood, that is available to the UK and how this resource can be used to achieve the Government’s Net Zero ambitions and protect the environment. The biomass strategy will be published in Q2 2023.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential role of synthetic fuels in meeting net zero targets.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Whilst synthetic fuels can be expensive and energy intensive to manufacture, they have the potential to contribute to the decarbonisation of transport sectors where there are limited alternatives, such as in aviation. In recognition of the potential benefits of synthetic fuels produced using renewable power, these fuels are eligible for support under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) certificate trading scheme.
Power-to-liquid (PtL) synthetic fuels will benefit from a specific target in the Department’s forthcoming Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandate scheme to accelerate their commercial advancement.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) hydrotreated vegetable oil and (b) other alternative low-carbon solutions to heat pumps on the level of consumer choice.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government published impact assessments alongside consultations on phasing out the installation of fossil fuel heating off the gas grid, on 19 October 2021. The Government will respond to those consultations and set out further details in due course.
The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme continues to drive a market for low carbon liquid fuels. Under the RTFO scheme, sustainable low carbon liquid fuels, including hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), are eligible for support when used in road transport and forms of non-road mobile machinery, with waste-based fuels such as HVO derived from used cooking oil benefitting from twice the reward available to low carbon fuels produced from crops.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) help increase the capture and reuse of used cooking oil and (b) support the domestic production of (i) hydrotreated vegetable oil and (ii) other low-carbon liquid fuels.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government published impact assessments alongside consultations on phasing out the installation of fossil fuel heating off the gas grid, on 19 October 2021. The Government will respond to those consultations and set out further details in due course.
The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme continues to drive a market for low carbon liquid fuels. Under the RTFO scheme, sustainable low carbon liquid fuels, including hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), are eligible for support when used in road transport and forms of non-road mobile machinery, with waste-based fuels such as HVO derived from used cooking oil benefitting from twice the reward available to low carbon fuels produced from crops.