Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they disbanded the Behaviour
Change for Net Zero working group; and what they have replaced it
with.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy () (Con)
The group was created to discuss potential policies and proposals
to be included in the Net Zero Strategy. Given that the strategy
was published last year, we are now focused on delivering its
commitments and have well-established net-zero structures across
government to do so.
(CB)
I thank the Minister for his reply, but in evidence given to the
Environment and Climate Change Committee, on which I serve, Simon
Baugh, the director of government communication, said that the
Government considered that their Together for our Planet campaign
launched in 2020 was a “success” and were now
“developing and testing a strategy for climate change
communications”.
I had barely heard of the Together for our Planet campaign, even
though I work in this area, and I guess that many noble Lords
have not heard of it either. On what basis do the Government
consider it a success? What are the new strategies and when will
they be launched? Will it be this year?
(Con)
The noble Baroness makes an important point. I think that the
campaign was a success, but it is important that we take the
public with us on this journey. We think that the better approach
is to support people in making the green choices that we all want
to see them make. We have a range of support measures across
government to help them to do this.
(Lab Co-op)
My Lords, I am sure that the Minister agrees with me that we must
invest at scale in renewable energy, going further and faster. If
he does, will he set out for the House a bit more these new
initiatives and ways forward? We have had the committee that has
been disbanded, so what are these new initiatives that we need to
know about?
(Con)
As we said before, we already have considerable investment in
renewables, and there will be a forthcoming energy security
strategy in the near future, which will expand on some of those
commitments. The noble Lord will be aware that we already have
one of the largest offshore wind industries in the world, and
extremely ambitious plans for scaling up offshore wind, hydrogen,
solar and other forms of renewable energy. We want to continue
that.
(LD)
My Lords, the Welsh are shortly to consult on a behaviour change
engagement strategy, and the Scottish already have one. So what
plans do our Government have to publish a behaviour change
engagement strategy, so that everyone can understand the
challenges that we face, and take their part in their role for
the transition to net zero?
(Con)
As I mentioned in earlier answers, we have a range of strategies
in place to support people to make their green choices. We have
the boiler upgrade scheme, which is launching next month with
£450 million-worth of support over three years, to help people to
make a green choice in their heating. We have the phase-out of
petrol and diesel cars by 2030 to help people to make green
choices in their transport. We have the jet-zero initiative, to
help people to make green choices in flying and transportation.
So we think the better approach, rather than trying to dictate
people’s behaviour, is to support them to enable them to make
green choices.
(GP)
My Lords, late last year, the Centre for Research into Energy
Demand Solutions, involving many prominent UK university
academics, produced a report showing that the UK can halve its
energy demand by 2050 and still improve the quality of life. That
group suggested four possible approaches to government policy on
energy demand reduction, ranging from ignore, to steer, to shift,
to transform. How does the Minister classify the Government’s
approach?
(Con)
We have discussed in this House in many debates a number of the
policies that we have to reduce energy demand. I know that the
noble Baroness is a keen advocate of energy efficiency, and I
agree with her on that. We have a programme of almost £7
billion-worth of expenditure over the next few years to enable
energy efficiency improvements, including home upgrade grants,
the local authority delivery scheme, the social housing
decarbonisation fund, the public sector decarbonisation strategy,
et cetera. They are all about decarbonisation and improving the
efficiency of our energy usage, which is, of course, the best
form of renewable.
The
My Lords, like the Government, the Church of England has targets
for reaching net-zero carbon, in our case by 2030. Churches
across the Anglican Communion are deeply affected by climate
change. For example, Madagascar recently had four cyclones in two
months. We are working right across the communion on this
question. This week, we have had a gathering of archbishops from
across the communion representing more than 100 countries. Will
the Minister set out the plans that the Government have to work
further with faith communities, which have unique distribution
and contacts, from the grass roots to the highest level, both
nationally and internationally, and will he commend the work that
they are already doing?
(Con)
I thank the most reverend Primate for his question, and it is a
pleasure to see so many of his colleagues in the gallery with us
this morning. Achieving our net-zero targets will be a shared
endeavour, requiring action from everyone in society. I very much
welcome the 2030 net-zero target set by the Church, and I am
following the Church’s consultation on its net-zero road map with
interest. It mirrors our net-zero strategy, which delivers a
comprehensive set of measures to support and capitalise on the
UK’s transition to net zero by 2050. I would be very happy to
meet with the most reverend Primate to discuss how we can build
on that excellent work and how we can work together to enable our
green future.
(Con)
My Lords, does the Minister accept that everything has changed as
a result of the war in Ukraine and the huge increase in the cost
of fossil fuels? Given our dependence on fossil fuels as we move
away from them in the longer term, are not the Government to be
congratulated on allowing further development of North Sea
interests in order to enable security of supply and, most
importantly of all, to protect the poorest people in this country
so that they are actually able to meet their bills?
(Con)
My noble friend makes a very important point. The Ukraine crisis
has changed everything. What the crisis in the use of fossil
fuels demonstrates is the need—ultimately, in the longer term—to
use less of them and to move towards more renewable power, which
I know my noble friend supports. However, in the meantime, for
the transition, we will still need oil and gas, and my contention
is that it is much better to achieve those supplies from our own
domestic production, which is secure, pays UK taxes and employs
UK workers.
(Lab Co-op)
My Lords, the Minister has very wisely said that new nuclear
forms an important part of this strategy. Can he outline to the
House what his strategy is going to be to persuade the Scottish
Government that new nuclear stations should be established at
places like Hunterston and Torness, where the communities are
very willing to accept them?
(Con)
The noble Lord makes an extremely important point. Nuclear will
make a vital contribution to our low-carbon, net-zero future. It
is very disappointing to see the Scottish Government rejecting an
excellent technology that already works well in Scotland.
However, if they continue to take this approach, I am sure that
the rest of us in England and Wales will be very happy to help
our Scottish friends out by continuing to supply clean, green,
nuclear power for them.
of Craighead (CB)
My Lords, what are the Government doing to encourage the
development of tidal power as an alternative source of energy?
(Con)
The noble Lord makes a very good point. There are a number of
schemes in operation already, and a number of research programmes
that we fund to help tidal power. There are a number of different
schemes, of course, including proposals for lagoon tidal power,
which has proved to be quite expensive at the moment, but we
continue to keep these matters under review. We have a constant,
ongoing round of contracts for difference, which is our main
mechanism of support, and we will, I am sure, look forward to
supporting such schemes in the future.
(Lab)
My Lords, do the Government have any plans to insulate homes to a
decent standard? We have some of the worst-insulated properties
in Europe. When will the Government invest in that, to reduce our
need for fuels of any sort?
(Con)
The noble Lord makes an excellent point. Indeed, we are doing
just that. I mentioned earlier that we have something like £7
billion-worth of support through some of the schemes I mentioned,
including the social housing decarbonisation fund, the home
upgrade grant and the local authority delivery scheme. All of
those are focused on helping those on the lowest incomes in
society to insulate their homes to reduce their energy bills.
(LD)
My Lords, can I confirm that the Minister just said that the
Government were not open to carrying out a consultation on
behavioural change strategy with respect to climate change? If
that is the case, it is really quite sad, because businesses are
trying to lead the way, but they cannot reap the full benefit of
their actions without a clear lead from government.
(Con)
The Government are providing a clear lead. We were one of the
first countries in the world to legislate for net zero; we have
provided a number of different strategy documents, pointing the
way, across a whole range of sectors, to how we can meet net
zero, and we are working very closely with business. We are
delighted to see that so many different international companies
have signed up to our net-zero pledges. We will continue to work
with them and continue to encourage people to make greener
choices.
