Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the total value of climate finance and foreign aid underspending is that has been diverted to the Ministry of Defence.
Answered by Jane Hunt
Around £100m from the BEIS International Climate Finance budget in 2022-23 has been identified to be handed back to HM Treasury.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to remove unsustainable legal deforestation from UK supply chains, as recommended by the Climate Change Committee in its most recent Progress Report to Parliament.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK Government is tackling unsustainable legal deforestation through two key initiatives:
The UK and US are convening 13 of the world’s largest agri-commodity trader companies who have committed to developing a roadmap for COP27. This roadmap focuses on accelerated supply chain action, to reduce emissions from land use change, and working with key stakeholders to address the root causes of deforestation.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Glasgow Climate Pact, whether his Department plans to amend the UK's Nationally Determined Contribution before the end of 2022.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is continuing to review the latest available evidence to ensure that its target remains aligned with the Paris temperature goal and exploring other ways to strengthen its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
The Government will publish any updates to the NDC ahead of the UN synthesis report deadline on 23 September and urges other parties to do the same.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the total annual greenhouse gas emissions arising from the UK Overseas Territories which are currently not incorporated within the Paris Agreement.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 15th March 2022 to Question 135440.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what level of greenhouse gas reduction the UK Overseas Territories of Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands and the Falkland Islands have achieved under the UK ratification of the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol; and whether they have fulfilled their targets.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK’s Overseas Territories of the Cayman Islands, Falklands and Gibraltar do not have individual targets under the Doha Amendment, but are included in the UK’s target, which the UK is on track to meet.
For reference, territorial greenhouse gas emissions in the base year (1990) and most recent year (2020) for the 3 territories listed are as follows (million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent):
UK Overseas Territory | 1990 | 2020 |
Cayman Islands | 0.5 | 1.1 |
Falkland Islands | 0.4 | 0.4 |
Gibraltar | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Note that final estimates of emissions reductions under the Doha Amendment would differ slightly from these figures, as the UK has chosen to use 1995 as the base year for fluorinated gases emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. The UK will account for emissions from the land use, land use change and forestry sector in accordance with Kyoto Protocol guidelines. Final figures will be available following the ‘true-up’ process, in which final assessment of compliance with targets under the Doha amendment will take place, likely to be 2023 at the earliest.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the level of annual emissions of British Overseas Territories which remain outside the Paris Agreement.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK ratification of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been extended to the Overseas Territories of Bermuda, Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands and the Falkland Islands.
The UK ratification of the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol has been extended to Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands and the Falkland Islands.
As of March 2022, the Paris Agreement has not been extended to any of the Overseas Territories. The Government will continue to engage on extension of the UK ratification of the Paris Agreement with those Overseas Territories that are eligible and that formally request it.
BEIS publish National Statistics on UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions annually: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/final-uk-greenhouse-gas-emissions-national-statistics-1990-to-2020. The latest statistics cover emissions from 1990 to 2020 and include estimates of territorial emissions from UK Overseas Territories who are not party to the Paris Agreement but are party to the UNFCCC.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 1 October 2019 to Question 291441 on Carbon Emissions: British Overseas Territories, whether his Department is continuing to consult British Overseas Territories on their potential incorporation into the Paris Agreement.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK ratification of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been extended to the Overseas Territories of Bermuda, Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands and the Falkland Islands.
The UK ratification of the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol has been extended to Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands and the Falkland Islands.
As of March 2022, the Paris Agreement has not been extended to any of the Overseas Territories. The Government will continue to engage on extension of the UK ratification of the Paris Agreement with those Overseas Territories that are eligible and that formally request it.
BEIS publish National Statistics on UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions annually: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/final-uk-greenhouse-gas-emissions-national-statistics-1990-to-2020. The latest statistics cover emissions from 1990 to 2020 and include estimates of territorial emissions from UK Overseas Territories who are not party to the Paris Agreement but are party to the UNFCCC.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which British Overseas Territories have been incorporated into the (a) UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, (b) Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol and (c) Paris Agreement as of January 2022.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK ratification of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been extended to the Overseas Territories of Bermuda, Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands and the Falkland Islands.
The UK ratification of the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol has been extended to Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands and the Falkland Islands.
As of March 2022, the Paris Agreement has not been extended to any of the Overseas Territories. The Government will continue to engage on extension of the UK ratification of the Paris Agreement with those Overseas Territories that are eligible and that formally request it.
BEIS publish National Statistics on UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions annually: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/final-uk-greenhouse-gas-emissions-national-statistics-1990-to-2020. The latest statistics cover emissions from 1990 to 2020 and include estimates of territorial emissions from UK Overseas Territories who are not party to the Paris Agreement but are party to the UNFCCC.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment his Department has made of the implications for the UK Government’s position on deep sea mining of the trigger by the Government of Nauru of the two year rule on deep sea mining.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Nauru has notified the International Seabed Authority of its intention to apply for approval of a plan of work for deep sea mining exploitation under the terms of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). We continue to press for the very highest environmental standards to be agreed and activated by the International Seabed Authority. Until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impacts on deep sea ecosystems and strong and enforceable environmental regulations in place, the UK has committed not to sponsor or support the issuing of any exploitation licences for deep sea mining projects.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of the vehicles used by his Department for Government business are electric vehicles.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
BEIS currently has contracts with the Government Car Service, which is a division within the Department for Transport, for the provision of two cars. The vehicles supplied to BEIS by the Government Car Service are owned and operated by the Department for Transport and are leased by BEIS.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-car-service.
The vehicle fuel type can vary depending on which car has been allocated to cover on that day. Generally, the cars are electric or hybrid.