Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 06 Jan 2022
Energy Costs
"My Lords, I am very pleased to support this debate, but I am always sad that we have to have it at all. In her Question to the House, the noble Baroness asks about the effect of rising energy costs. In my few minutes, I will talk about the effect …..."Baroness Boycott - View Speech
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Written Question
Tuesday 21st December 2021
Asked by:
Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question
to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the response by Lord Callanan on 13 December (HL Deb, col 3) that the "evidence is independently audited", who undertakes such assessments; what percentage of imports are assessed; and how many independent audits have found that biomass products used have not met the sustainability criteria.
Answered by Lord Callanan
- Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The assessments are performed by independent auditors who are qualified to perform assurance engagements in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000 (Revised) and the relevant legislation (Article 84(3) of the Renewables Obligation Order 2015).
Annual sustainability audit reports are performed in line with the ISAE 3000 (Revised) standards. The auditor will select a limited assurance sample, taken from all biomass products, based on a risk assessment.
Ofgem publish independently verified information on how generators have reported against the sustainability criteria in their annual biomass datasets and RO annual reports, which can be found on Ofgem’s website. The information for Drax in these datasets shows that no instances have been found where fuels at Drax have been reported as unsustainable.
Written Question
Tuesday 21st December 2021
Asked by:
Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question
to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Callanan on 13 December (HL Deb, col 2), what are the "strict sustainability criteria" by which biomass operators abide; and whether these criteria allow operators to source wood pellets from virgin forests.
Answered by Lord Callanan
- Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has strict sustainability criteria in place for biomass use. For biomass power generation supported under the Renewables Obligation scheme, the sustainability criteria are outlined in Schedules 1, 2, and 3 of the Renewables Obligation Order, which are publicly available on the legislation.gov.uk website.
Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 13 Dec 2021
Drax Wood Pellets
"To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the sustainability, and (2) the impact on biodiversity, of the wood pellets used by Drax for electricity generation in the United Kingdom...."Baroness Boycott - View Speech
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 13 Dec 2021
Drax Wood Pellets
"I thank the Minister for his Answer, but I beg to differ. Some of the forests being logged for biomass are among the most ecologically rich and diverse in the world. The North American coastal plain, where most UK biomass imports—particularly Drax—come from, is a global biodiversity hot spot. Clear-cutting …..."Baroness Boycott - View Speech
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 02 Dec 2021
Oil and Gas Authority: Remit
"My Lords, HMRC estimates that decommissioning will cost the taxpayer £18.3 billion over the next few decades. Oil and gas companies can claim tax back on all decommissioning as well as R&D, as the noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan, pointed out. We also have one of the lowest tax burdens for …..."Baroness Boycott - View Speech
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 03 Nov 2021
Net-zero Emissions Target: Fossil Fuel Extraction Projects
"My Lords, yesterday the Prime Minister said that the threat was huge. It has been very humbling to listen to some of the testimonies from countries such as Bangladesh, the Maldives and the Seychelles. I want to reinforce the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan. Why do we …..."Baroness Boycott - View Speech
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 11 Oct 2021
Emissions Trading Scheme: Transport
"Are the Government supportive of the citizens’ climate assembly recommendation to introduce a frequent flyer levy? This would fit well with the polluter pays principle, which Ministers have advocated previously at the Dispatch Box, and the burden would fall on those most able to pay, something I am sure the …..."Baroness Boycott - View Speech
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 07 Sep 2021
Climate Change
"My Lords, the UK still has no fully costed plan to reach net zero. The Office for Budget Responsibility has made it clear that the cost of delaying will increase dramatically the longer we do so, and then we will not get the benefits of a more sustainable society and …..."Baroness Boycott - View Speech
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 06 Sep 2021
Deep Seabed Mining
"Does the Minister agree that it seems deeply ironic that we are now about to dig up these nodules from the ocean without full knowledge of what that will do environmentally? We did the same with oil, and now we are trying to retract. As was just mentioned, recycling is …..."Baroness Boycott - View Speech
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