Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost per household of the target to reach net zero in each of the next three years.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Net zero is the economic opportunity of the 21st century. Meeting climate targets will cost less than failing to deal with climate change. The Climate Change Committee estimates the cost of meeting net zero targets will be on average the equivalent of 0.2% of UK GDP per year and the OBR estimates the cost of failing to deal with climate change will be around 5% of UK GDP by the 2070s.

The 0.2% cost also does not take into account the wider beneficial growth impacts of net zero investment. Since July 2024, £60bn of private investment has been announced in our clean energy industries.

The OBR is clear that the costs of climate damage are getting higher, while the cost of the net zero transition is getting lower. Only by investing in the transition now can we reduce costs in future

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to announce further details of the revised Sustainable Farming Incentive, and what support they will provide to upland and tenant farmers.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We will provide more detail on the new SFI offer ahead of publishing the full scheme details before the first application window opens in June.

Eligible upland and tenant farmers will be able to apply for funding as part of the Sustainable Farming Incentive this year. The department is working with social entrepreneur Dr Hilary Cottam on a new approach to supporting the uplands and our next step will be to develop a place-based approach for what these communities need, co-designing solutions to specific problems. An example would be, developing a common understanding of how land can be best used for food production and the public good.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what the relationship is between domestic food production, including increasing self-sufficiency and food security, and nature recovery schemes.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Restoring nature is not in competition with sustainable food production but is necessary to it. Protecting the environmental foundations of farming is essential to farm profitability, because all farms need healthy soils, abundant pollinators, and clean water to produce good food.

The Government has allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. The department is targeting public money where it delivers most value, supporting nature. By investing in nature, Defra is helping secure the foundations of long-term food security.

Found: Ashcombe; Lord Jay of Ewelme; Lord Layard; Earl of Leicester; Lord Lennie; Lord Mancroft; Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Found: AND BIOSECURITY Copy to: Lord Krebs Lord Harlech Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb Baroness McIntosh of Pickering