Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which regulatory arrangements to limit the impact on the climate of aviation once the transition period for the UK’s departure from the EU has ended will be sufficiently collaborative across adjoining airspaces.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government remains committed to leading ambitious and concerted international action to combat the contribution of aviation to climate change.
At the end of the Transition Period, EU airspace regulations covering requirements on flight efficiency will be retained as UK law.
The UK will also establish a UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that supports our world leading climate ambition. The UK ETS will include aviation and impose surrendering obligations on the following routes from day one: UK domestic flights, flights departing the UK to aerodromes in the European Economic Area (EEA), and flights between the UK and Gibraltar.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the regulatory framework for climate impact offsetting to account for both the direct and indirect climate impact of aviation.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As a contracting state of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) the UK will participate in the globally agreed Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) from January 2021. Under the scheme, aeroplane operators on routes between participating states will be required to offset the CO2 emissions above 2019 levels by purchasing and cancelling approved offset credits.
Currently, CORSIA only applies to CO2 emissions. Due to the uncertainties surrounding aviation’s non-CO2 climate impacts, ICAO does not include these in its climate policies.
The UK played an instrumental role in agreeing CORSIA through ICAO and continues to negotiate for greater environmental integrity within the scheme.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the possible (1) technological, and (2) regulatory, solutions available to help prevent the formation of aircraft contrails.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) recently produced a report titled “Updated analysis of the non-CO2 climate impacts of aviation and potential policy measures pursuant to EU Emissions Trading System Directive Article 30(4)” for the European Commission, which identified three policies that could be implemented to prevent the formation of aircraft contrails: a reduction in aromatics in jet fuel; mandatory use of sustainable fuel; and avoidance of ice-supersaturated airspace.
The UK is pushing internationally for investigation of how to reduce aromatics in jet fuel and plans to consult domestically on a sustainable aviation fuel mandate. However, significant uncertainties remain meaning that policies which risk increasing aviation CO2 emissions, such as rerouting aircraft, cannot be taken forward with confidence that aviation's total climate impact would be reduced.
The Government will continue to keep this issue under review and adjust its policy where necessary.
I will place a copy of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency report in the libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their target for the number of operational hydrogen filling stations in the UK by 2025.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government does not have targets for the number of operational hydrogen filling stations and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles owned and in operation in the UK by 2025. We are confident that the UK is well placed to be a leader in hydrogen fuel cell powered transportation and we are supporting hydrogen where the market favours its use. The UK already has one of the largest hydrogen refuelling station networks in Europe, and our £23m Hydrogen for Transport Programme is delivering new refuelling stations, upgrading some existing stations as well as deploying hundreds of new hydrogen vehicles.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their target for the number of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles owned and in operation in the UK by 2025.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government does not have targets for the number of operational hydrogen filling stations and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles owned and in operation in the UK by 2025. We are confident that the UK is well placed to be a leader in hydrogen fuel cell powered transportation and we are supporting hydrogen where the market favours its use. The UK already has one of the largest hydrogen refuelling station networks in Europe, and our £23m Hydrogen for Transport Programme is delivering new refuelling stations, upgrading some existing stations as well as deploying hundreds of new hydrogen vehicles.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential role of hydrogen in the decarbonisation of bus and coach transport.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In 2018, the Department for Transport published the outputs of the Transport Energy Model. The model provides a clear assessment of the relative environmental impacts of a range of fuel and powertrain options for cars, vans, buses and heavy goods vehicles over the period to 2050, including hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing a requirement on petrol forecourts to provide (1) electric recharging, and (2) hydrogen refuelling, facilities; and what assessment they have made of the feasibility of such a policy.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government’s view is that the market is often better placed to identify the right locations for chargepoints and we encourage the private sector to invest in and operate a self-sustaining public network supported by the right policy framework. On 1 April 2020, there were 17,947 public electric vehicle charging devices available in the UK, 3,107 of which were rapid devices. In the first three months of 2020, 1,436 more devices were available in total, an increase of 9%. Rapid devices also increased by 283, up 10% on the previous quarter.
The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act (AEVA) provides the Government with a range of powers to improve the charging experience for current and future users, including compelling fuel retailers to install chargepoints. The Government has had a number of discussions with representatives of fuel retailers about the provision of electric vehicle chargepoints at service stations and petrol forecourts, and we shall continue to explore options with them.
In May, the Government published an ambitious vision for rapid charging infrastructure along strategic roads in England over the next decade, setting out the number of rapid chargepoints that will be located across motorways and major A roads to meet the future demand for electric vehicle charging. Currently, a driver is never more than 25 miles away from a rapid (50 kilowatt) chargepoint anywhere along England’s motorways and major A roads, with a total of 809 open-access rapid chargepoints, as of 1 January 2020. This includes an average of 2 rapid chargepoints at motorway service areas with more being rolled out over the next year.
The UK is well placed to be a leader in hydrogen fuel cell powered transportation and we are supporting hydrogen where the market favours its use. The UK has one of the largest hydrogen refuelling station networks in Europe. The Government’s £23m Hydrogen for Transport Programme is increasing the uptake of fuel cell electric vehicles and delivering new refuelling stations and upgrading some existing stations, as well as deploying hundreds of new hydrogen vehicles.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to incentivise the production of hydrogen through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) certificate trading scheme, renewable hydrogen supplied in the UK for use in road vehicles and certain non-road mobile machinery is eligible for support. It is categorised as a development fuel, which potentially benefits from a higher tradeable certificate value.