The previous
Treasury Committee launched an inquiry into the decarbonisation
of the UK economy and green finance on 5 June 2019.
The Treasury
Committee has announced today that it is relaunching the inquiry
to seek additional written evidence on how and whether the UK’s
response to coronavirus should take the Government’s net zero
carbon emissions by 2050 target into account.
The Committee
would like additional evidence to address whether HM Treasury’s
support packages to business should distinguish between companies
based on how much they pollute, should HM Treasury be directly
funding green infrastructure as part of its coronavirus spending
package, and what policies should HM Treasury change due to
coronavirus in order to facilitate the transition to meeting net
zero.
Commenting on the
announcement, , Chair of the Treasury Committee,
said:
“The Committee has
received a great deal of evidence since launching this inquiry
over a year ago. But with the impact on the economy of
coronavirus, clearly much has changed.
“The Climate
Assembly’s report published last month said that post-lockdown
steps to aid economic recovery should drive progress to achieve
net zero.
“So now is the time
to ask whether the Government can seize the opportunity presented
by the crisis to further green the economy to achieve net zero by
2050.
“Whether the level
of HMT support should depend on how much companies pollute, or if
it should directly fund green infrastructure, are some of the
issues that we would like evidence on.”
--Ends--
Notes to
Editors
-
As part of the
inquiry so far, the Committee has three evidence sessions,
focussing on the economic opportunity of decarbonisation, HMT’s
strategy to achieve net zero, including the role of the
Spending Review, and the role that financial services firms are
playing in financing the transition.
-
The Decarbonisation
and Green Finance inquiry page, where evidence can be submitted
and the existing terms of reference can be viewed, is
here.
The additional written evidence that the Committee is calling
for now should address the following points:
-
-
Should the
Treasury’s support package to business distinguish between
companies based on how much they pollute?
-
Should the
Treasury be directly funding Green infrastructure as part
of its Coronavirus spending package?
-
Are there any
green related policies that the Treasury should change or
commence due to the Coronavirus in order to facilitate the
transition to meeting Net Zero?
-
In which ways
will the new economy post-Coronavirus allow the Government
to change the way it finances meeting the Net Zero
Target?
-
Are there
outcomes from the Coronavirus that will enable the Treasury
and HMRC to meet the Net Zero target more easily?
-
In June 2019, six
committees in the House of Commons, including the Treasury
Committee, launched a citizens’ assembly called the Climate
Assembly to understand how the UK can best achieve net zero by
2050. It published an interim briefing on 23 June 2020
here.
The final report is expected to be published in
September.
