Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the UK will remain a member of the European Patent Office after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The UK’s exit from the EU will not affect the current European patent system, which is governed by the (non-EU) European Patent Convention.
The UK will remain part of the European Patent office and UK businesses can continue to apply to the European Patent Office for patent protection which will include the UK.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to encourage a global market for the UK's renewable energy and low carbon technologies.
Answered by Jesse Norman
We continue to support renewable energy and low carbon technologies globally; we are already a world leader in off-shore wind. Working alongside the Department for International Trade, we are negotiating new free trade agreements with countries outside the EU and working to support businesses through discussions on market access issues. We will also be ambitious in the upcoming EU negotiations to secure the best possible access for businesses to trade with and operate in the European market.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the international competitiveness of the UK's renewable energy and low carbon technologies.
Answered by Jesse Norman
London is currently the world’s leading financial centre in carbon trading, hosting around 90% of the world’s carbon market. A third of new clean energy projects worldwide between 2007 and 2012 had legal and financial advice from the UK. The UK is already the second largest exporter of electric vehicles to Europe. The UK is currently leading the world in our offshore wind industry: with the largest installed capacity and the largest pipeline up to 2020. We expect the opportunities to export the technologies and expertise developed in the UK to grow.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that the emissions reduction plan will halve carbon dioxide emissions from energy and industry in each progressive decade of the plan's implementation.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Government remains committed to its 2050 target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% relative to 1990 levels. We have already made good progress towards this as the latest confirmed figures show UK emissions in 2015 were 38% lower than in 1990. Within this, emissions in both the power and industry sectors have nearly halved since 1990.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on full and proper accounting of woodchip biomass of the Chatham House report entitled The Impacts of the Demand for Woody Biomass for Power and Heat on Climate and Forests, published in February 2017.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In 2015/16, all woodchip used in the electricity sector was sourced from the UK, with a very small amount from Ireland (less than 0.1% of biomass in 2015/16[1]). Almost all woodchip used in the Renewable Heat Incentive was sourced from the UK, with a small amount from European sources. Our subsidy schemes fully account for the carbon emissions associated with the supply chain (harvesting, processing, transporting) and from changes in land use within the forestry sector.
To receive government support for heat and power generation from biomass, all biomass must comply with the UK’s sustainability criteria, which includes a minimum 60% greenhouse gas lifecycle saving and for the biomass to be sourced from sustainable managed forests.
[1] https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/biomass-sustainability-dataset-2015-16
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to put into domestic law protection for the new rights for energy consumers on self-consumption of renewable energy and selling power back to the grid set out in the EU's Renewable Energy Directive and Electricity Directive.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Formal negotiations on the Commission’s proposals for a revision of the Directive on renewable energy and the Directive on common rules for the internal market in electricity have not yet started. While we remain in the EU, the UK will play a full role in the negotiations, considering all implications for the UK, including for energy consumers who generate renewable energy.
As the formal negotiations have not begun, it would be premature to consider the extent to which any additional rights might be introduced in the UK.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he will report progress against actions as set out in the 2011 Carbon Plan and publish it on the Number 10 website; and for what reason no such progress has been reported since 2012.
Answered by Nick Hurd
We report progress against carbon budgets through the annual statement of emissions, our energy and emissions projections, and the Government’s response to annual progress reports from the Committee on Climate Change, fulfilling our statutory requirement. Taken together these documents set out an assessment of the actions Government is taking to meet carbon budgets, independent advice on potential further action and the Government’s response to that advice.
We are now looking ahead to our emissions reduction plan, which will set out how we will decarbonise all sectors of the UK through the 2020s.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to put into domestic law protection for the new rights for community energy groups introduced in the EU's Renewable Energy Directive and Electricity Directive once the UK has left the EU.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Formal negotiations on the Commission’s proposals for a revision of the Directive on renewable energy and the Directive on common rules for the internal market in electricity have not yet started. While we remain in the EU, the UK will play a full role in the negotiations, considering all implications for UK, including for community energy groups.
As the formal negotiations have not begun, it would be premature to consider the extent to which any additional rights might be introduced in the UK.
The Department is separately engaging with stakeholders to explore next steps for community and local energy in the context of the forthcoming Emissions Reduction Plan.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the UK will submit its mid-century low greenhouse gas emission development strategy to the UN as required under Article 4, paragraph 19, of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The UK has committed to submit a mid-century low greenhouse gas emission strategy to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change well ahead of the 2020 deadline. We are currently working towards our emissions reduction plan, which will set out how the UK intends to remain on course for meeting its legally binding target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy for the UK to retain membership of (a) the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, (b) the European Committee for Standardization and (c) other European standards bodies after the UK has left the EU.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The European Standards Organisations are not EU bodies, though they have a special status in the EU. We are working with BSI, the UK’s national standards body, to ensure that our future relationship with the European Standards Organisations continues to support a productive, open and competitive business environment in the UK.