Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to reduce the rate of the UK carbon tax.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Carbon Price Support is a tax on fossil fuels used in power generation in Great Britain which provides a ‘top-up’ to the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to form the Total Carbon Price.
As announced at Budget 2018, Carbon Price Support rates will be frozen at £18/tCO2 in 2020-21. From 2021-22, the government will seek to lower CPS rates if the Total Carbon Price remains high.
The government is committed to meeting its climate change commitments including reducing carbon emissions by at least 80% of 1990 levels by 2050, and meeting interim carbon budgets, whilst also ensuring the continued competitiveness of UK businesses. The tax system is an important part of this.