The Business and Trade Committee, formerly the Business, Energy
and Industrial Strategy Committee, has published a government response to its
predecessor’s report on the decarbonisation of the power
sector.
Published in April, the report warned the
Government that its plans to decarbonise energy were incoherent
and likely to miss their stated goals. It highlighted energy
efficiency measures in homes, queues for a grid connection for
renewable generators, planning for onshore wind, and the funding
the rollout of new nuclear as some of the areas of concern.
The report also noted that the decarbonisation of other key
sectors of the UK’s economy depended not only on decarbonising
electricity but on rapidly expanding the amount of clean power
generated.
Reacting to the Government response, Committee Chair said, “The UK must
radically speed up the delivery of new energy infrastructure if
we’re going to meet our net zero targets. Our report highlighted
many ways in which the Government could help do this. Yet
Ministers have rejected most of them. Consultations are not good
enough in themselves. The Prime Minister created a new Department
for Energy Security and Net Zero to get this right, but nothing
seems to have changed.”
“Parliament, via many committee reports, has repeatedly asked
the Government to take action on our highest priority
decarbonisation challenges: buildings, transport and industry.
Yet once again we see Ministers failing to fix the energy
efficiency schemes, failing to speed up the delivery of onshore
wind and failing to get a grip of industrial
decarbonisation.”
Following the machinery of Government changes responsibility for
the scrutiny of energy policy now rests with the Energy and Net Zero
Committee.
Notes to editors
