Draft Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information (Lighting Products) Regulations 2021 Draft Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information (Amendment) Regulations 2021

Amanda Solloway Excerpts

Wednesday 8th September 2021 General Committees

[The Chair]

Colleagues, before we begin, anyone who wishes to remove their jacket may follow my lead and do so. I encourage Members to observe social distancing where possible, given the situation we still find ourselves in. Mr Speaker encourages Members to wear masks in Committee where possible when they are not speaking. I thank officials for sitting in the Gallery, which is very helpful to keep things as a safe as we can. Hansard colleagues will be grateful to speakers for sending their speaking notes to them.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Amanda Solloway)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Ecodesign for Energy-related Products and Energy Information (Lighting Products) Regulations 2021.

[The Chair]

With this it will be convenient to consider the draft Ecodesign for Energy-related Products and Energy Information (Amendment) Regulations 2021.

[Amanda Solloway]

It is a great pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Miller. The draft Ecodesign for Energy-related Products and Energy Information (Lighting Products) Regulations 2021—the lighting products regulations—were laid before the House on 1 July 2021, and the draft Ecodesign for Energy-related Products and Energy Information (Amendment) Regulations 2021—the amending regulations—were laid before the House on 5 July 2021.

I will first provide an overview of ecodesign and energy labelling and what the policies try to achieve. Ecodesign policies regulate products that consume energy when in use, such as light bulbs and televisions, by setting minimum energy performance standards to increase energy efficiency. More recently, ecodesign policies have included resource efficiency measures that seek to make products more repairable and recyclable, thereby reducing the use of material resources. In effect, ecodesign policies make the products we use in our homes and businesses more environmentally friendly and support long-term product innovation.

Energy labelling policies are intended to make clear and consistent information about a product’s energy usage readily available to consumers at the point of sale, to help them to make more informed purchase decisions. In effect, energy labelling encourages the uptake of more energy efficient products.

Taken together, the policies make an important contribution to energy use, improving environmental outcomes and cutting energy bills. It is expected that the full suite of ecodesign and energy labelling policies in force in Great Britain will save consumers £75 on their energy bills and 8 megatonnes of carbon dioxide in 2021.

The lighting products regulations will raise the minimum energy efficiency of lighting products on the market in Great Britain. That will phase out the least energy efficient lighting products—in other words, the costliest and more environmentally damaging products to run. The lighting products regulations will replace the existing energy label for light sources and rescale labels, moving from the A++ to E scale to a simpler A to G scale, making it easier for consumers to identify the most energy efficient lighting products. New innovations in lighting technology have led to lighting products becoming more energy efficient than they were a few years ago, making it necessary to rescale energy labels to show the difference in efficiency more clearly for two products on the market today.

By setting ambitious boundaries for the A to G classes on the energy label, the policy will spur the innovation and design of lighting products, as manufacturers compete to achieve the highest energy efficient ratings. In addition to rescaling the energy label for lighting products, the Union flag, rather than the European Union flag, must now be displayed on the label for products on the GB market.

The lighting products regulations reflect the requirements of the two EU regulations that the UK supported as a member state, which began to apply in Northern Ireland in accordance with the Northern Ireland protocol. By introducing these more ambitious, environmentally friendly ecodesign and energy labelling requirements, we will ensure we maintain high product standards in Great Britain and push the market to achieve even greater carbon savings.

The measures introduced by the lighting products regulations will continue carbon savings of approximately 1.8 megatonnes in the UK by 2030, which increases to 2.6 megatonnes of carbon dioxide by 2050. On top of that, the resultant reduction in energy use will cut pounds from household and business energy bills.

Lastly, introducing these requirements in Great Britain will ensure a broadly common set of product standards with Northern Ireland, thus avoiding technical barriers to trade across the Irish sea between GB and the EU. A public consultation was conducted between November 2020 and January 2021, and feedback on the consultation proposals showed strong support for implementing these new requirements in Great Britain.

The amending regulations make amendments to retained EU ecodesign and energy labelling law that is in force in Great Britain. The EU has recently made the same amendments to its equivalent legislation, which must be complied with in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Northern Ireland protocol. Therefore, this statutory instrument ensures that we avoid technical discrepancies with the equivalent legislation in force in the EU and Northern Ireland.

The amendments this instrument makes are to servers and data storage products with respect to ecodesign, and electronic displays, household refrigeration, dishwashers, washing machines and washer-dryers with respect to energy labels. The amendments correct technical errors and improve accuracy, with the aim of facilitating the understanding of and compliance with the requirements of product manufacturers.

Further, as with the lighting regulations, implementing these regulations in Great Britain avoids technical barriers to trade between GB and Northern Ireland and GB and the EU, as they will be a broadly common set of standards. A consultation was conducted between March and April 2021 with product manufacturers who will be impacted by the legislation. Respondents were supportive of implementing the new requirements in Great Britain.

Introducing the lighting products regulations and the amending regulations is aligned with the Government’s ambitions to achieve our carbon budget and net zero target. The measures will reduce the energy use and environmental impact of the products we buy. Further, both SIs avoid technical barriers to trade and ensure an effective regulatory environment for business, while providing greener choices to consumers and businesses. I commend these two statutory instruments to the Committee.

--- Later in debate ---

[Amanda Solloway]

I thank both hon. Members for their valuable contributions. As I have said before, the Government are committed to delivering their carbon budget and net zero target. The lighting products regulations will help us to achieve those by setting higher product standards, leading to 1.8 megatonnes of carbon savings in the UK by 2030, which will increase to 2.6 megatonnes of carbon dioxide by 2050. The amending regulations will help to achieve that by safeguarding the carbon savings that will be secured from our retained EU law.

In response to specific questions about mirroring the EU, I can confirm that we are doing that, and the Government intend to uphold common high product standards where possible and appropriate. The framework is part of the 10-point plan that we are doing. The EU rescaled their labels for lighting products.

In conclusion, I will underline the main purposes of the lighting products regulations and the amending regulations. The lighting products regulations will raise the minimum energy efficiency of the range of lighting products sold in Great Britain and reform energy labels for lighting products by rescaling the energy classes and introducing a scale from A to G. As the hon. Member for Southampton, Test said, that will be a lot simpler. The measures will result in carbon and energy bill savings for consumers and businesses.

The amending regulations will facilitate compliance with and understanding of the ecodesign and energy labelling requirements for a range of products by improving accuracy and correcting technical errors. That will ensure that the expected carbon savings from the regulations are realised. Both SIs will help to avoid technical barriers to trade while also bringing significant benefits to consumers, in the form of reduced energy bills, and to the environment via lower emissions.

I commend the regulations to the Committee.

Question put and agreed to.

DRAFT ECODESIGN FOR ENERGY-RELATED PRODUCTS AND ENERGY INFORMATION (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2021

Resolved,

That the Committee has considered the draft Ecodesign for Energy-related Products and Energy Information (Amendment) Regulations 2021.—(Scott Mann.)