Oral Answers to Questions

Kerry McCarthy Excerpts

Thursday 5th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Graham Stuart]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. He will be aware that the offshore wind sector deal, published in March 2019, sets an ambition of increasing exports fivefold to £2.6 billion by 2030. He and I, in our respective constituencies, have seen the transformation of the economics of offshore wind. We are now seeing UK Export Finance, for instance, financing major investments in Taiwan and other parts of the world, with UK exports and UK expertise, not least from my hon. Friend’s constituency, at the heart of that. I would be delighted to meet him.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

17. A recent investigation by “Newsnight” and Greenpeace found that UK Export Finance is financing oil and gas companies that will emit 69 million tonnes of carbon a year—nearly a sixth of the UK’s annual emissions. It is ridiculous to talk about tackling climate change in this country when we are exporting our carbon footprint abroad. Will the Minister commit to phasing out this support by 2021?

[Graham Stuart]

The Government are investing £2.5 billion in clean growth innovation by 2021, as set out in the industrial strategy. The offshore wind sector deal commits the sector to investing up to £250 million, building a stronger UK supply chain. It is a transition—a transition away from fossil fuels to cleaner technologies—and we intend to drive that ever faster.