Andrew Bowie

The Government recognises biomethane as a practical and cost-effective way of contributing to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) applies a zero emissions factor to combustion of biomethane where supplied directly to ETS installations. Where biomethane is injected into the gas grid, there is not currently a mechanism to ensure biomethane is accounted for separately.

The UK Government and the EU commission have committed to work towards establishing a link between carbon markets, with the details of a potential link subject to negotiations.

Guidance on how Scope 3 emissions should be assessed as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment process has now been published. This provides clarity for the North Sea oil and gas industry. Developers can now resume the submission of environmental statements and each will be assessed on its own merits. As the projects to which these environmental statements relate will be subject to future regulatory decisions, it would be inappropriate to comment on the specifics of any individual cases.

The North Sea is a highly mature basin. Production of oil and gas has been declining since a peak in 1999 and around 80% of our oil is exported.

The UK benefits from a secure and diverse energy system, which allows us to draw on several sources, reducing our reliance on any single source.

The Government's Clean Energy Superpower Mission, supported by the largest investment in home-grown clean energy in British history, will enhance energy security by boosting our energy independence, protecting billpayers, and reducing exposure to global supply shocks.

Just under 12 per cent of UK oil imports originated in Kuwait (7.5 per cent), Saudi Arabia (2.5 per cent), and the United Arab Emirates (1.6 per cent) in January to April 2025 (Energy Trends, Table 3.14), similar to 2023 and 2024. The Strait of Hormuz is the primary export route for these countries. Imports were predominantly of jet fuel and white diesel.

No decision has yet been taken on whether to pursue a future large-scale project beyond Sizewell C or where such a project would be located. Therefore, the government has not carried out an assessment of the economic impact of any future project on the Welsh economy. However, by comparison, Hinkley Point C supports about 10,000 jobs during construction and will support approximately 900 permanent jobs during its 60 years of operation.

Data on UK gas reserves is published in Energy in Brief; data for 2024 will be published on 31st July 2025. The North Sea Transition Authority publish projected production between 2025 and 2050.

The Midstream Gas System: Update to the Market published on 30th June highlights the government's focus on ensuring the resilience of gas supply and infrastructure as domestic production declines.

Great British Energy–Nuclear acquired the Wylfa site last year and we will set out our plans in due course. No decision has yet been taken on whether to pursue a future large-scale project beyond Sizewell C, but all nuclear projects are subject to a detailed value for money assessment, including cost.

The deployment of heat networks is predicted to have a positive impact on economic growth in the UK, however a full assessment of the scale of growth has not yet been undertaken. We will set out our long-term plans for heat networks in the Warm Homes Plan later this year, including the important role that they will play in achieving net zero, and in promoting economic growth.

The Government recognises that to achieve net-zero we will need to ensure all technologies including heat networks are able to meet their potential. The 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy will reduce uncertainty by bringing together a long-term plan for the social, economic and housing infrastructure across the UK. This will include clean energy sectors, which include heat networks. We will set out our long-term plans for heat networks in the Warm Homes Plan later this year, including the important role that they will play in achieving net zero, and in promoting local economic growth.

The Government recognises that to achieve net-zero we will need to ensure all technologies including heat networks are able to meet their potential. The 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy will reduce uncertainty by bringing together a long-term plan for the social, economic and housing infrastructure across the UK. This will include clean energy sectors, which include heat networks. We will set out our long-term plans for heat networks in the Warm Homes Plan later this year, including the important role that they will play in achieving net zero, and in promoting local economic growth.

The government only supports the use of sustainable biomass, and generators only receive subsidies for biomass that meets our robust sustainability criteria. Domestically sourced and imported wood pellets, regardless of the country of origin, are subject to the sustainability requirements in the current subsidy arrangements for biomass generators, which include supply chain emission thresholds and land-use criteria.

The government sets robust supply chain emissions thresholds as part of the sustainability criteria for large-scale biomass generation. Shipping, and all other transport, emissions are included in that requirement. As announced on 10 February, the supply chain emissions threshold for eligible large scale biomass generators is proposed to be tightened further under proposed arrangements with Drax, from 55.6 gCO₂e/MJ to 36.6 gCO₂e/MJ.

It is for individual generators to determine how and where to source sufficient, eligible material to meet the requirements set out by government.

Existing sustainability requirements for current subsidy arrangements include robust land-use criteria to ensure biomass is sourced from sustainably managed forests. This includes requirements around sustainable harvesting and biodiversity protection. Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, is responsible for monitoring profiling data on land criteria and enforcing wider sustainability standards.

To further reduce the risk of wood pellets being sourced from environmentally significant areas, we will be excluding material sourced from primary and old growth forest from being eligible for subsidy under the proposed Heads of Terms with Drax announced on the 10^th February.

All biomass pellets for UK generation, regardless of country of origin, must meet supply chain emissions thresholds; these have been tightened further to 36.6 gCO₂eq/MJ in the Heads of Terms agreed with Drax and announced on 10 February.

It is for generators to determine how and where to source compliant sustainable biomass pellets to meet the required volumes of generation.

Biomass generators are required to submit monthly sustainability data and annual audit reports from an independent verifier under existing subsidy arrangements. These data returns are scrutinised by Ofgem, and include compliance with land and GHG greenhouse gas (GHG) emission criteria, volume of biomass, fuel name, fuel type and voluntary certification scheme used. This applies to biomass sourced from the UK, US or any other nation.

At the announcement of the new Heads of Terms with Drax on 10 February, we made clear that sustainability assurance arrangements for future large-scale generation will be strengthened further. We are working closely with expert bodies including Ofgem, LCCC and SBP to enhance reporting, ensuring best practice in sustainability and land use.

The Government does not enter into agreements with other governments on the supply of biomass for UK power generation. Rather, it sets sustainability criteria which must be met for generation to be eligible for subsidy, and it is for individual generators to determine how and where to source material to meet these requirements.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero engages regularly with international counterparts on a number of issues.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero engages regularly with international counterparts on a number of issues.

The Department is responsible for the policy framework within which the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) operates. The OGA Strategy outlines how the NSTA’s principal objective will be met. The NSTA does so in several ways – for example, facilitating collaboration across the basin.

The Building the North Sea’s Energy Future consultation, which closed on 30 April 2025, sought views on whether the NSTA’s principal objective of maximising economic recovery adequately reflects the current context in the North Sea and supports the Government’s strategic objectives. The Government will respond in due course.

Carbon savings through fuel switching from fossil fuels to low carbon alternatives and improvements in resource and energy efficiency are needed for the industrial sector to transition to net zero. We are developing a suite of policies to enable industry to deliver these savings. As we do so, we are closely engaging with industry, both with sector trade associations as well as with manufacturers directly, to identify and understand the challenges, barriers and costs of their decarbonisation pathways.

CCUS requires significant resources, and it is right that it is considered within the Spending Review. We continue to engage at both working and ministerial level with all future projects, including Track-2, and further decisions for future CCUS deployment will be taken in due course.

Regulation plays a critical role in supporting the low-carbon technologies of the future, whether in electric vehicles or sustainable aviation fuel. DESNZ is taking steps to review the compliance costs of regulation as part of the Government’s Regulation Action Plan. For example, the Department has started a review of the energy and emissions reporting landscape to identify opportunities to reduce undue administrative burden, and has launched its Review of Ofgem.

The Government recognises biomethane as a practical and cost-effective way of contributing to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) applies a zero emissions factor to combustion of biomethane where supplied directly to ETS installations. Where biomethane is injected into the gas grid, there is not currently a mechanism to ensure biomethane is accounted for separately.

As outlined in the future policy framework for biomethane production call for evidence, the Government is working with the ETS Authority to consider whether the ETS could account for biomethane injected into the gas grid and will provide an update on this in due course.

Since July last year, we have provided a host of support and guidance to industry. This has included: guidance to SMEs through our Business Energy Advice Service (BEAS) pilot and to local clusters through our Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plans scheme; funding for further studies and projects supporting industrial decarbonisation under the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund; and providing updates to the market on our hydrogen and carbon capture business models and support, as well as confirming £21.7bn funding to launch the UK’s first carbon capture sites.

To give longer-term confidence for industry to decarbonise, we will publish an Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy ensuring growth opportunities are captured in tandem with emissions reductions.

In February 2024, the Department issued a Call for Evidence (CfE) on a future policy framework for biomethane production, which included consideration of a national target.

We are considering the responses to the CfE as part of policy development and will set out further details in due course.”

Guidance on recommended home energy efficiency improvements is devolved. In Scotland, constituents can visit the Home Energy Scotland webpage for advice.

The Warm Homes Plan will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future. We will upgrade up to 5 million homes across the country by accelerating the installation of efficient new technologies like heat pumps, solar, batteries and insulation.

We will partner with combined authorities and local and devolved governments to roll out this plan. Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in due course.

Yes, Great British Energy (GBE) will be considered a “public authority”, and thereby a “contracting authority”, where it is not operating on a commercial basis.

Under the Procurement Act 2023, GBE can reject bids and terminate contracts with suppliers that are known to use forced labour themselves or anywhere in their supply chain. In addition, GBE will utilise the debarment list to ensure that suppliers with unethical supply chains cannot participate in procurement or be awarded contracts. The company will appoint a senior individual in the organisation to lead on ethical supply chains and modern slavery.

The government has inherited a fragmented consumer protection framework for installation of measures that improve the energy efficiency of homes. This will be reviewed and reforms brought forward in the Warm Homes Plan, so that people can be confident of the quality of upgrading and insulating homes, which could help save money on their bills.

Dan McGrail, the interim CEO, will work from Great British Energy’s (GBE) Aberdeen HQ, and we have recently launched the recruitment campaign for the permanent CEO, which is also advertised as Aberdeen-based.

The first recruitment campaigns for the senior team have been launched, and of the three permanent Director-level positions advertised up to this point, two will be based in Aberdeen.

The plan for the Department’s offices in Aberdeen is to continue to provide value for money office space in the right location, which meets minimum standards to facilitate the activities that are located there. This includes the core Department 2^nd HQ, alongside arm's-length bodies: the North Sea Transition Authority HQ and the Great British (GB) Energy HQ. (GB Energy is expected to become an arm’s-length body of the Department in the future.)

Great British Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, recognising the expertise, skilled workforce, and diversity of projects already in place.

As a Government Property Agency (GPA) onboarded department, DESNZ is pursuing property options through the GPA. Due to the commercial sensitivity of any lease negotiations, specific details cannot be provided at this time.

In the interim, Great British Energy is headquartered in DESNZ’s second headquarters in Aberdeen, Crimon Place, to ensure the organisation can get to work as quickly as possible, not least hosting Great British Energy’s first board meeting on 17 March 2025.

Attendance at the Civil Service Climate + Environment Conference is treated like other professional development opportunities within the Civil Service. Staff may attend with their line manager's agreement as part of their learning and development, in line with standard departmental policies. This aligns with the Civil Service's commitment to continuous professional development and cross government collaboration.

This is the second such conference, with the inaugural event in 2023 attended by Ministers from the previous administration in which the Hon Member was a Minister

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Details of meetings held by officials are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The 2025 conference was funded by learning and development budgets from across government.

Currently, the market price varies strongly based on fossil fuel prices, which we do not expect to impact the delivery of Clean Power 2030.

As the action plan makes clear, homegrown renewable energy is the key to energy independence. Clean Power 2030 will reduce our exposure to volatile international gas markets and the leverage of hostile petrostates like Russia.

The Department does not hold this information. The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for managing constraints and publishes yearly breakdowns by cost and volume, which can be found here: Constraint Breakdown Costs and Volume | National Energy System Operator. This is aggregate data and does not show which companies have received constraint payments.

Increasing the capacity of Great Britain’s electricity network is essential for reducing curtailment and constraint payments. This is why the Government is working to accelerate the build of new network infrastructure, so more cheap, homegrown energy can power up our homes and businesses.

Grid expansion will be dependent on equipment manufacturers securing the materials required to produce grid components to meet global demand. The UK Critical Mineral Intelligence Centre (CMIC) recently published a study into requirements of our national grid infrastructure to reach net zero. The cumulative material demand between 2023-2050 for upgrades is expected to be between 1.1m-1.6m tonnes of copper and 200,000-300,000 tonnes of aluminium.

As part of the Government’s upcoming Plan for Steel, we are working to better understand domestic demand and explore what can be done to ensure our steel sector is best positioned to capitalise on it.

The Civil Service Climate + Environment Network is run by volunteers across government who typically dedicate around 5% of their time to network activities, often as part of their learning and development. The annual conference is delivered primarily through this voluntary commitment, with minimal impact on departmental resources.

This is the second such conference, with the inaugural event in 2023 attended by Ministers from the previous administration in which the HM was a Minister.

The Civil Service Climate + Environment Network is run by volunteers across government who typically dedicate around 5% of their time to network activities, often as part of their learning and development. The annual conference is delivered primarily through this voluntary commitment, with minimal impact on departmental resources.

This is the second such conference, with the inaugural event in 2023 attended by Ministers from the previous administration in which the HM was a Minister.