Carbon Budget Delivery Plan

Edward Morello Excerpts

Wednesday 12th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Edward Morello (West Dorset) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. I congratulate the hon. Member for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) on securing this important debate. I am delighted that after years of delays, legal challenges and missed opportunities, we finally have a new carbon delivery plan. As we all know, however, a plan is not enough—it is actions, not words, that count.

Before I get into the action that is needed, I want to first acknowledge the great progress that has been made. The UK has halved its emissions since 1990. That is an exceptional achievement and one we should rightly be proud of, but much of that progress has been made by phasing out coal. Much of the heavy lifting on hard-to-abate emissions still lies ahead: decarbonising manufacturing, transport and agriculture and improving energy efficiency, all while protecting nature.

The key to further progress is changing the narrative. The transition to a low-carbon economy is not a cost or a burden; it is one of the greatest opportunities of our time. It can bring cheaper bills, warmer homes and thousands of well-paid jobs in the green economy. It is deeply disappointing that, having once lead the UK through varying levels of success in green technology, the Conservative party has abandoned its values and veered into climate denialism. Its recent calls to scrap the Climate Change Act just show how far it has fallen from the environmental leadership that Britain once showed.

The new carbon budget delivery plan is a step back in the right direction. The Government’s plan includes bold targets: low-carbon power making up 98% of the grid by 2035, 9 million heat pumps in operation, 1.6 million homes upgraded every year, and 75% of farmers engaged in emissions reductions. The Liberal Democrats support those aims, but we also want action now. We have proposed a 10-year emergency home upgrade programme, starting with free insulation for low-income households, ensuring that all new homes are zero carbon, and extending rooftop solar through the sunshine Bill tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Max Wilkinson).

We would also provide a social tariff for vulnerable households and move older renewable projects on to cheaper, more stable contracts. The Government’s investor prospectus is a good start, but stability is what really attracts private investment. The green economy is already growing three times faster than the UK economy as a whole and employs nearly 1 million people in well-paid, secure jobs. With clear policy direction, we can accelerate that growth.

The Government must end the sporadic nature of the climate portfolio and end the stop-start conversations with the Treasury. The £8.3 billion for GB Energy is good news—having spent a decade in renewable energy finance, I can tell Members that I would have supported that if it were £8.30—but it needs to be front-loaded, not spread out over the course of a Parliament. If we want to crowd in private investment, we have to de-risk the first 10p on the pound, not the first 1p.

There also need to be long-term secure funding streams that are accessible to start-ups and innovators. The net zero innovation portfolio was a great scheme. It invested around £300 million in early-stage climate ventures, leveraging up to £3 in private investment for every £1 in public grant funding. Sadly, it was scrapped this year. Will the Government confirm whether they intend there to be a replacement to the net zero innovation portfolio? Will they also confirm that the clean tech innovation challenge will proceed in 2026, as previously announced? In addition, I urge Ministers to commit a portion of the next round of Government carbon purchases specifically to carbon removal projects, to help to establish and grow the greenhouse gas-removal market.

We must reform how the National Energy System Operator manages battery storage. By prioritising flexible storage rather than reverting to high-emission generators such as Drax, we would be able to utilise a far greater proportion of the renewable energy that we generate.

On agriculture, the plan to recognise farmers as central to climate action is great, but we need to fund them properly. The Government’s cuts to the sustainable farming initiative and delays to environmental land management schemes mean that many farmers are left uncertain about the future and unable to invest in carbon reduction and nature-friendly initiatives. The Liberal Democrats would commit an additional £1 billion a year to support sustainable farming and rural resilience.

We must also accelerate the upgrade of our national grid, and ensure that communities affected by new infrastructure share in the benefits. Clean power cannot flow if it cannot be connected. The Liberal Democrats are also calling for a UK-wide adaptation strategy to embed climate resilience into every decision and support local communities to prepare before disaster occurs.

COP30 is currently being held in Brazil, and while the world’s negotiators grapple with finding an agreement, the British public are clear that they overwhelmingly support strong climate action. They want leadership. The Liberal Democrats believe we can halve energy bills within a decade, end fuel poverty and create a cleaner, fairer and more secure Britain. In the delivery plan, the Government say that they will

“seek to improve delivery and, where appropriate, will explore further measures, to ensure that the UK will meet its international commitments.”

Well, the Liberal Democrats believe in facts. We believe in science, the opinions of experts, and the inalienable truth that climate change is an existential crisis. We are here to help to improve that delivery, explore those further measures and ensure that our generation meets our commitment to future generations.