Asked by Baroness Hayman To ask His Majesty’s Government what
changes they plan to make to the UK’s climate change policies.
Baroness Hayman (CB) My Lords, I beg leave to ask a Question of
which I have given private notice, and in so doing declare my
interest as chair of Peers for the Planet. The Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State, Department for Energy Security and Net
Zero (Lord Callanan) (Con) My Lords, the UK is leading the world on
climate...Request free trial
Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what changes they plan to make to
the UK’s climate change policies.
(CB)
My Lords, I beg leave to ask a Question of which I have given
private notice, and in so doing declare my interest as chair of
Peers for the Planet.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Energy
Security and Net Zero () (Con)
My Lords, the UK is leading the world on climate change. We are
committed to net zero by 2050 and the agreements that we have
made internationally. The Prime Minister will make a statement on
this issue later this afternoon.
(CB)
My Lords, that really will not do. We have all read what the
proposals are. I understand that it is very easy to see on
WhatsApp the paper on this issue put to the Cabinet this morning
at its emergency meeting. I also understand that the plan was not
to have Parliament sitting at all and to make these major
announcements on Friday. Instead, because they were leaked, we at
least have some opportunity in this House to question the
Minister, but I hope he will not hide behind waiting for 4.30 pm,
when the Prime Minister will talk to the press and not to
Parliament.
In New York today, the UN is underlining that no country has done
enough to meet the challenges of climate change, so it is both
ironic and depressing that the UK Government are proposing such a
damaging retreat from our global leadership position. What is the
Minister’s response to the horrified reception these proposals
have received from business leaders, who see delaying the
transition to net zero as the complete opposite of what they
need—ambition, certainty and commitment?
Is it not deeply disingenuous to suggest that rolling back our
climate commitments is in the interests of hard-pressed families,
when slowing down ambition on home insulation, for example, will
only be, as the CEO of E.ON UK put it,
“condemning people to many more years of living in cold and
draughty homes that are expensive to heat, in cities clogged with
dirty air from fossil fuels, missing out on the economic
regeneration this ambition brings”?
Finally, can the Government explain why they are disregarding all
the advice from the Treasury, the OBR and others that delays to
the actions essential to achieve net zero by 2050—to which the
Minister says they are still committed—will make the task more
difficult, more chaotic and more expensive?
(Con)
My Lords, there were a number of questions there. In essence, I
think the noble Baroness is asking whether the Government are
really committed to net zero. As I said in the original Answer,
the answer is yes. More importantly, we have the track record to
prove it. The UK has overachieved on all our carbon budgets to
date; we have reduced emissions faster than any other major
economy; we are home to the first, the second, the third and the
fourth-largest offshore wind farms in the world; and renewable
power reached a record share of 48% of total generation in the
first quarter of 2023. All those matters have been achieved under
a Conservative Government. It is our record and we are proud of
it.
(Con)
My Lords, the Climate Change Committee and , who was the Government’s
own adviser, say that the Government cannot at this moment reach
net zero, even before they cut back. Last week, the Government
failed the offshore wind industry. This week, it appears that
they are making car manufacturers unable to do their jobs. How
are this Government going to restore the confidence of investors,
businesspeople and the general public that they will stick to
their word?
(Con)
Yet again, the noble Lord is wrong in his statements. As he well
knows, we have the largest offshore wind industry in Europe and
the second largest in the world. Other European countries are
racing to catch up with our record. We have over- achieved in
meeting our carbon budgets, and I remind the House that these are
legally binding commitments. We are on track to overachieve on
carbon budgets 4 and 5. We are also on track to achieve carbon
budget 6, which does not start until 2033, so I am afraid the
noble Lord’s statements are wrong.
(Lab)
My Lords, it is worth emphasising the comments from Ford UK in
its response to today’s news:
“Our business needs three things from the UK government:
ambition, commitment and consistency. A relaxation of 2030 would
undermine all three”.
These are not isolated comments; many businesses have made more.
Why are the Government content to hurt working people by selling
out British business and the long-term future of our economy in
this way?
(Con)
The noble Baroness makes a number of statements before she has
even heard what the Prime Minister has to say later; perhaps she
might want to read what the Prime Minister actually announces and
revise her statements in light of that.
(LD)
My Lords, the Minister has provided a list of things that all of
us have been proud of in the past, but the point is that is the
past. This announcement is a tragedy for this nation because that
leadership that we had globally, of which we all were proud, is
about to disappear. The Prime Minister is likely to say that the
target of net zero still exists, which is a fabrication. We know
from the Climate Change Committee, the Government’s own adviser,
that we are already behind that in terms of policy. This will
kill that objective.
We have the IRA in the United States and the green investment
plan in the EU. We are now retreating from international
investment. The question I ask the Minister is where the
investment will come from to get us to net zero, but the question
I really want to ask is how come any Ministers are still in the
department for net zero. They should have all resigned this
morning.
(Con)
As the noble Lord knows, net zero is a legal commitment imposed
on us by Parliament; it is the duty of Ministers to meet that
commitment, and we will do so. As I have said, we are currently
overachieving on carbon budgets 4 and 5; carbon budget six does
not start until 2033. I have sat down with policy officials, and
we are confident that we are on track to meet that as well. We
are attracting record amounts of inward investment into this
country. I talked earlier about the windfarm industry; we could
talk about hydrogen or CCUS—the UK is world-leading on all those
policies and many global companies are rushing to invest in the
UK. Our difficulty is prioritising some of that investment.
(Con)
My Lords—
(GP)
My Lords—
(Con)
My Lords, we will hear from the noble Green lady and then from my
noble friend.
(GP)
My Lords, in responding to the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, and a
number of others, the Minister has come out with a list of the
Government’s claimed achievements. He has not mentioned once the
issues of home insulation and energy efficiency, on which the
Government’s record is disastrous. As the noble Baroness, Lady
Hayman, said, this means that people are in cold,
impossible-to-heat and unhealthy homes. Can the Minister reassure
me that we are not going to see back-pedalling this afternoon on
home insulation and energy efficiency?
(Con)
It is always a pleasure to hear from the “noble Green lady”, even
though she sounds increasingly red sometimes. I am very happy to
talk about our record on home insulation. In 2010, under Labour,
14% of homes had an EPC rating of C or above. It is now almost
50%. Clearly, we need to go further, which is why we are
investing £6.5 billion over this Parliament on home upgrade
retrofit measures. The Treasury has already committed £6 billion
from 2025 onwards—the noble Baroness shakes her head; she should
listen to the facts. Last week, I was pleased to announce the
Great British insulation scheme— £1 billion over three years.
Even if the noble Baroness wishes to, she can apply for it online
as we speak.
There is no doubt that His Majesty’s Government have done many
good things, and we need all sides of the House to work on this
vital area. However, this is not just something which affects
some groups; it particularly affects those parts of our nation
where air quality is so bad that it is materially affecting the
health of many young people and causing huge additional costs to
the NHS. What assurances can the Minister give us about the
progress of moving to electric cars, to try to make a tangible
difference to air quality in our urban areas?
(Con)
The right reverend Prelate asks a very good question on electric
vehicles; let me give him the facts on that. The UK had among the
highest battery electric vehicle sales in 2022. We are
registering a new EV every 60 seconds. Full-battery EV sales are
up 88% year on year. Most of the UK’s emissions cuts have of
course come under this Government; we are very proud of our
record on electric vehicle sales. We are seeing record
investments from BMW, Nissan, Tata and Jaguar Land Rover. Again,
the UK has a record we can all be proud of.
(CB)
My Lords, I hate to disagree with the Minister, but just this
morning on the Environment and Climate Change Committee we heard
from car manufacturers that they absolutely did not want these
targets delayed, because that is what they were doing and they
needed that certainty. I have two questions. Does this
announcement have anything to do with the ULEZ row that took
place at the recent by-election? Secondly, everyone agrees on one
thing about climate change: the more you delay, the harder the
measures are going to have to be to get us to net zero by 2050,
which I am glad the noble Lord still agrees on. Have the
Government commissioned the OBR to do a thorough cost analysis of
what these delays are going to mean, not for us today but for
people in five, 10 and 15 years’ time?
(Con)
The answer to the noble Baroness’s first question is no. With
regard to the OBR, I am not quite sure why the OBR has a role in
this. We obviously have our Climate Change Committee which gives
the Government advice, but, to be frank, lots of other external
organisations send me more advice on this subject every day, so
we are not short of helpful academic advice on all the topics
under consideration. As I said, we are looking towards the
future. The Government are still committed to our legally binding
climate change targets. That means sticking to the legally
binding carbon budgets that we have overdelivered on, and we are
on track to deliver on the next one.
(Con)
My Lords, it was Nuclear Week in Parliament last week, which
showcased a myriad of gigawatt and small, advanced and
microgenerating nuclear power. Can my noble friend the Minister
reassure me not only that the Government are still committed to
investing in nuclear but that they understand the urgency of
doing so if the UK is to benefit from both the supply chain and
the employment possibilities in areas of the country that
desperately need levelling up, such as north Wales?
(Con)
The noble Baroness has been resolute in her support for nuclear
and does a fantastic job in advocating for it. I am very happy to
give her the reassurance that she is looking for. Of course,
again, the nuclear industry was left to decay under the last
Labour Government. We have resumed it through building Hinkley
Point, and we are about to take a final investment decision on
Sizewell. I know the noble Baroness is particularly keen on the
announcement of Great British Nuclear. These are all contributing
towards our climate change goals. Nuclear will provide us with
cost-effective, CO-free power for many years into the future.
(Lab)
My Lords, the Government have a track record on stuff like this.
In 2015, cancelled zero-carbon homes
about six weeks before it was due to be implemented and when
housebuilders had already geared up for its implementation. We
lost 10 years of opportunity for net zero-compliant homes and
warmer homes for people. The Tory Government have done it again
with a major U-turn on their policy on home insulation, boilers
and electric vehicles, against the advice of everyone, including
the manufacturers and business. What will the Minister say to his
colleague, , who did the net-zero review
for the Government? He came to the conclusion that not enough was
being done and is incandescent with rage at the likely
announcements this afternoon. What is plan B when we are going to
lose another 10 years on the path to net zero?
(Con)
We will not lose another 10 years on the path to net zero. I
outlined our policies earlier. For the sake of repeating them
again, we are still committed to net zero and to meeting the
carbon budgets; we have an excellent record. We are committed to
meeting the 2050 target. We will continue to advance on that
path, but we will do so in a fair and proportionate manner that
takes people with us rather than by imposing things on them.
(LD)
My Lords—
(Con)
My Lords—
(Con)
My Lords—
The Lord Privy Seal () (Con)
My Lords, I am sorry to disappoint my noble friends, but I think
it is the turn of the Liberal Democrats.
(LD)
My Lords, a third of all emission reductions to get us to our
net-zero target will need to be made by people adopting new
technologies, choosing new products and services or going for
less carbon-intensive consumption. As the noble Baroness, Lady
Boycott, said, all the evidence to our committee’s EV, boiler
upgrade and behaviour change inquiries showed that what people
and industry want is policy certainty, consistency and clear
leadership from the Government. In the clear absence of those
this afternoon —as I am sure we will see—how on the earth will
the Government achieve their net-zero goals?
(Con)
The key phrase in the noble Baroness’s question was people
choosing green alternatives. We want to help them to do that, and
we want them to do it voluntarily. We want to make the choices
attractive, which is why we provide incentives for insulation
schemes. I refer once again to the Great British insulation
scheme that I announced last week, which offers £1 billion over
three years to help people in council tax bands A to D to upgrade
their homes. If the noble Baroness has a little patience, in the
next 20 minutes she will be able to listen to the Prime Minister
and I think that she will find at least some announcements that
she will like pertinent to some of her recent inquiries.
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