Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce levels of incineration of plastic.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are clear that we want to see less residual waste being generated in the first instance. To this end, in addition to our Collection and Packaging Reforms, we have set a statutory target under The Environmental Targets (Residual Waste) (England) Regulations 2023 to ensure that the total mass of residual waste (excluding major mineral wastes) for 2042 does not exceed 287 kg per person. This is the equivalent of a 50% reduction from 2019 levels. This is supported by an interim, non-statutory target set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan to ensure that residual municipal plastic waste for 2027 does not exceed 42 kg per person.
We are also working closely with DESNZ on the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to cover fossil carbon emissions from waste incineration and EfW from 2028. This will provide an incentive for the development and uptake of decarbonisation technologies or waste management practices to reduce emissions from incineration of residual waste plastic.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to introduce a moratorium on new incineration capacity in the UK.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials are currently assessing planned Energy from Waste capacity against expected future residual waste arisings so we can understand what future capacity may be required following implementation of key commitments in the Resources and Waste Strategy. This further assessment of residual waste treatment capacity needs will be published in due course. We are clear that Government does not support overcapacity of residual waste treatment infrastructure at either a local or national level.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing water companies into public ownership.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since privatisation, the private water sector model (underpinned by strong, independent economic regulation) has unlocked around £215 billion of investment. This is equivalent to around £6 billion annually in investment, almost double the pre-privatisation level, and has delivered a range of benefits to customers and the environment.
Government is therefore committed to the system of independent economic regulation and has no plans to bring water into public ownership.
The Government is clear that to retain public support, water companies must ensure they meet high standards of transparency and corporate governance.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle the risk of (a) drought and (b) water scarcity.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
(a) Defra published its Plan for Water 2023 which set out the importance of ensuring a clean and plentiful water supply in England. The Plan sets out our commitment to a twin track approach to improving water supply resilience, with action to reduce water company leaks and improve water efficiency, alongside investing in new supply infrastructure.
Last year, regional water resources groups and water companies consulted on their draft water resources plans. These statutory plans set out how each company will secure water supplies sustainably for at least the next 25 years and how drought resilience will be improved. The plans contain proposals for multiple new water resources schemes, including new reservoirs. Water companies also maintain statutory drought plans, which show the actions taken to maintain secure supplies during droughts.
(b) To address water scarcity, the Government has set a new legally binding target under the Environment Act 2021 to reduce the use of our public water supply in England by 20% per person by 2038. To achieve this, we will reduce household water use to 122 litres per person per day, reduce leakage by 37%, and reduce non-household (for example, businesses) water use by 9% by 31 March 2038. This is part of the trajectory to achieving 110 litres per person per day household water use, a 50% reduction in leakage and a 15% reduction in non-household water use by 2050. Our Plan for Water and Environmental Improvement Plan have set out our roadmap to water efficiency in new developments and retrofits, to be delivered over the next decade. This includes developing clear guidance on ‘water positive’ or ‘net zero water’ developments and roles for developers and water companies, including water company incentives. We are also working closely with water companies to increase the supply of water.
In December 2023, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities issued a Written Ministerial Statement which set out that in areas of serious water stress, where water scarcity is inhibiting the adoption of Local Plans or the granting of planning permission for homes, we are encouraging local planning authorities to work with the Environment Agency and delivery partners to agree standards tighter than the 110 litres per day set out in current guidance. Defra will also be reviewing building regulations in spring 2024 to allow local planning authorities to introduce tighter water efficiency standards in new homes. Defra is also reviewing the evidence base for water reuse systems with a view to consulting on changes to the water supply regulations to enable greywater reuse and rainwater harvesting to be managed by water companies.
At Spring Budget 2024, the Government published a policy paper setting out its ambition to address water scarcity in Greater Cambridge and measures to achieve this. It builds on significant interventions and investment of nearly £9 million - including £5.8 million of new funding - announced last July and at Autumn Statement 2023.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Climate Change Committee’s report entitled Investment for a well-adapted UK, published on 1 February 2023.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) was published in July 2023 and sets out how we are investing billions in projects to improve the UK’s climate resilience. This includes £5.2bn of investment over six years in flood and coastal erosion schemes in England, and £2.4bn per annum until the end of this current Parliament on the Farming and Countryside Programme which supports and helps to drive practices that embed greater climate adaptation in England's agriculture. Where government has concerns about the level of investment in resilience we have acted swiftly. For example, through the recent Plan for Water we have accelerated £2.2bn of investment in measures to secure a resilient, clean and plentiful supply of water now and in the future.
The Government has also committed to support the flow of private finance into adaptation through the government’s 2023 Green Finance Strategy ‘Mobilising Green Investment’. This includes working with private sector partners to improve the approach to climate resilience assessment and disclosure, and supporting private and public collaboration to overcome barriers to investment and assist in the functioning of new markets.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to coordinate a public engagement programme on adaptation including (a) the risks posed by climate change and (b) actions that individuals can take.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to hearing and learning from the views of different groups on how climate change impacts them, and how it can improve policies and programmes accordingly. The third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) sets out the actions we will take across Government to manage the risks of climate change in the period to 2028. We are taking a dynamic approach to managing the delivery of NAP3, to learn from what works and to continue to develop our response based on the science and developing climate projections. This will be informed by engagement with stakeholders.
A public dialogue, overseen by Defra and in partnership with UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI’s) Sciencewise Programme, Ipsos and the University of Leeds, explored the public’s perspectives on climate adaptation and how they think the government, businesses and civil society should address it. 120 members of the public took part in four locations across England. The report of this project was published in July 2023 on the Sciencewise website. It can be accessed at: https://sciencewise.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Climate-Adaptation-Dialogue-Report.pdf.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle methane emissions from organic waste through (a) the UNFCCC and (b) other international fora.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Tackling methane emissions is one of the quickest and most cost-effective tools to limit global temperate rising to 1.5 degrees. The Government welcomes that this was a priority at COP28 and was pleased to see more countries joining the Global Methane Pledge, to collectively reduce global methane emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels, including across the waste, energy, and agriculture sectors.
We also recognise there is a need to support Governments and industry internationally to take tangible steps to identify and reduce methane emissions. This is why the UK made a £2 million contribution to the Methane Finance Sprint at COP, to help developing countries tackle methane emissions from their energy sectors.
The Government welcomes opportunities to engage internationally on methane emissions, including on measuring, reporting, and verifying emissions, as well as sharing lessons learnt on cost-effective measures to tackle methane emissions across sectors.
In the UK, overall greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector have decreased by 74% since 1990. This is mostly due to the implementation of methane recovery systems at UK landfill sites, increasing landfill methane capture rates, and reductions in the amount of biodegradable waste disposed of at landfill sites. In 2022, the waste sector accounted for 4.6% of total UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions, with landfill methane emissions responsible for 80% of the sector’s emissions.
We are committed to tackling these remaining emissions and are exploring options for the near elimination of municipal biodegradable waste being sent to landfill in England from 2028, in line with the commitment in the Net Zero Strategy. We issued a call for evidence on 26 May 2023 to support detailed policy development. A Government Response to this call for evidence and further information will be published in due course.
We are undertaking research to quantify site-specific methane emissions from landfill and update our understanding of residual (non-recyclable) waste composition. Both of these projects will support efforts to further reduce methane emissions from landfill sites and report our emissions in line with UNFCCC guidelines.
We are also exploring ways to ease the environmental impact of legacy landfills, in line with a commitment in our Resources and Waste Strategy, through new approaches to landfill aftercare.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his timeframe is for publishing the terms of reference for the cross-government delivery board on the (a) 25-year environment plan and (b) environmental improvement plan.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The cross-Government 25 Year Environment Plan (25YEP) Board was established in December 2020. It is responsible for overseeing, coordinating and driving forward action to implement the 25YEP, and associated requirements under the Environment Act 2021. It is the central authority for cross-Government oversight, coordination and action towards the targets, outcomes and commitments of the plan across Government.
The 25 YEP Board is part of wider governance and assurance that includes Defra and cross-Government management of outcomes.
There are no current plans to publish the Terms of Reference.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2024 to Question 12797 on Marine Protected Areas, when his Department expects to publish (a) the outcomes of the Marine Management Organisation’s calls for evidence on the development of byelaws to manage fishing activity impacts in marine protected areas and (b) its public consultation on those outcomes.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) issued a call for evidence for stage 3 of its offshore Marine Protected Area byelaw programme last year and is now preparing draft byelaws for consultation. A further call for evidence on stage 4 of the programme, covering highly mobile species, closed on 13 February 2024. The MMO is analysing the responses received to this latest call for evidence before deciding what byelaws might need to be consulted on. The outcomes of both processes will be published in due course.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Office for Environmental Protection’s annual progress report published 18th January 2024, if he will bring the ambient air quality standards in the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010 in line with World Health Organisation guidelines.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The World Health Organisation Air Quality Guidelines are intended to inform the setting of air quality standards and are not ready-made targets for adoption. We will continue to keep our targets under review and consider in line with the best available evidence, specific to our national circumstances.