Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason his Department provided renewable subsidies to Drax for the burning of imported wood.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Renewables Obligation and Contracts for Difference schemes were set up to support the establishment of new low-carbon electricity generation projects, helping to reduce reliance on fossils fuels. Sustainable biomass can be used to produce renewable and low-carbon electricity. It has numerous system benefits from dispatchability to inertia, with stable established supply chains, providing energy security within a net zero consistent energy system.
The Government only supports sustainable biomass and generators only receive subsidies for biomass that complies with the UK’s strict sustainability criteria.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many of his Department's ministers have been exempted from quarantine in a hotel after returning to the UK from a covid-19 red list country to which they have travelled for the purposes of conducting official business.
Answered by George Freeman
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has granted no letters exempting BEIS Ministers returning from red list countries from managed quarantine. Two BEIS Ministers performing duties outside of their BEIS roles were granted exemptions for engagements by other Departments.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress the Government has made on producing a sustainable long-term plan for carbon pricing.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Government is committed to carbon pricing as a tool to meet our ambitious emissions reductions targets. In the Energy White Paper we announced that a UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) would be the UK’s carbon pricing policy from 1 January 2021. The UK ETS initially covers around one third of UK greenhouse gas emissions, and applies to the power sector, heavy industry, domestic aviation, and flights from the UK to the European Economic Area.
We recognise that meeting Net Zero will require us to build on this ambition. That is why in the next 9 months we will consult on how to align the UK ETS cap with an appropriate net zero trajectory. The cap will provide certainty about the UK’s decarbonisation trajectory over the long-term, giving businesses the confidence to mobilise the scale of capital investment necessary to deploy clean energy technologies.
We are also committed to explore expanding the UK ETS and will set out our aspirations to continue to lead the world on carbon pricing in the run up to COP26.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a carbon fee and dividend as part of its plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
A carbon fee and dividend is an alternative form of carbon pricing policy. The UK already prices carbon emissions. This was previously through participation in the EU Emissions Trading System, and from January 2021 is via a UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) as announced in the Energy White Paper. This demonstrates our ongoing commitment to carbon pricing as a tool to reduce emissions in line with our ambitious net zero target.
Whilst we recognise the benefits of a carbon fee and dividend system, we believe that our UK ETS is better placed to support businesses to decarbonise at least cost. The UK ETS initially covers around one third of UK greenhouse gas emissions, and applies to the power sector, heavy industry, domestic aviation and flights from the UK to the European Economic Area. We will consult in the next 9 months on how to align the cap with the appropriate net zero trajectory, and we are also committed to exploring expanding the UK ETS to the two thirds of emissions currently not covered by carbon pricing, and will set out our aspirations to continue to lead the world on carbon pricing in the run up to COP26.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the potential number of job losses in the (a) travel sector, (b) tourism sector and (c) wider economy as a result of the Government's proposed 14 day quarantine requirement due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
The 14 day quarantine policy is a matter for Home Office.