, Chair of the Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
Committee has written today to Rt
Hon , the new Secretary of State
for DBEIS, to press for action on a series of policy fronts such as
electric vehicles, carbon capture, and energy
efficiency, to ramp up UK efforts to meet future carbon
budgets and the net-zero 2050 target.
The BEIS
Chair calls for stronger BEIS-Treasury collaboration to
ensure that Treasury’s net zero funding review
considers not only the costs, but also the benefits,
of delivering the new target.
, Chair of the Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
Committee said: “I
welcome as the new Secretary of
State. With the Government committed to the net-zero target by
2050 but currently set up to fail to deliver on the fourth and
fifth carbon budgets, it is clear the new Secretary of State will
need to hit the ground running and act quickly to ramp up efforts
on the policies and actions crucial to tackling climate change
and capitalising on the opportunities of a low-carbon
economy.
“The
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee has
made a series of recommendations to drive forward progress - in
areas such as electric vehicles, energy efficiency, and on carbon
capture and storage - which I hope the Secretary of State will be
ready and willing to act upon.
“The
Secretary of State should also seek to overcome Treasury
resistance and ensure that her colleague at No.11 examines the
potential benefits as well as the costs of the transition to net
zero. The Government should also overcome its ideological
opposition to on-shore wind - the cheapest form of electricity
generation in the UK - and set out plans to fulfil this
technology’s huge potential.
“We
look forward to questioning the Secretary of State later this
year and pressing her on her commitment to the policies needed to
deliver on the UK’s climate change
obligations.”
Background on
BEIS Committee’s work relating to climate change and
net-zero
Response from Chancellor
Phillip Hammond letter to Rachel Reeves , Chair of the Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee on net
zero and responding to series of questions concerning
reports that Government estimates put the cost of meeting the net
zero carbon emissions target by 2050 at £1
trillion. , Chair of the Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee letter to
, Chancellor of the
Exchequer.
On
12th July,
the Committee published a report
on energy efficiency. The report warned
that the UK stands no chance of meeting its emissions reduction
targets, including net zero by 2050, unless the Government takes
urgent action to revive its failing energy efficiency policy and
builders are compelled to deliver the latest energy efficiency
standards.
On Tuesday 9th
July, the BEIS Committee questioned Sir
David Attenborough on a range of issues relating to climate
change and the ‘net zero’ emissions
target. Following the Prime
Minister’s commitment to the UK cutting carbon emissions to net
zero by 2050, and the publication of
the Committee on Climate Change’s (CCC)
report, the Business, Energy and Industrial
Strategy Committee held a session on Tuesday
18th June examining
the rationale for going faster to hit the net zero target,
hearing from witnesses including Gail Bradbrook, Extinction
Rebellion, Isabella O'Dowd, Climate and Energy Specialist, WWF,
and Baroness Bryony Worthington, Environmental Defense
Fund.
On Wednesday
8th May,
the BEIS Committee questioned the Committee on Climate Change and
business stakeholders on the net zero target and actions needed
to achieve net zero emissions.
The BEIS
Committee recently joined with
five other select
committees of the House of Commons (Environmental Audit; Housing,
Communities and Local Government; Science and Technology;
Transport; and Treasury) to announce
plans to hold a Citizens’ Assembly on
combatting climate change and achieving the pathway to net zero
carbon emissions.
