Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many licences have been granted for oil and gas projects in the UK since 2020.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Licensing is a matter for the North Sea Transition Authority who publish all figures and statistics regarding licence awards for oil and gas exploration and development.
The North Sea Transition Authority has awarded a total of 278 licences for oil and gas exploration and development since 2018. This comprises 123 awarded in 2018, 42 awarded in 2019, and 113 awarded in 2020. No awards were made in 2021 or 2022.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the recent licence extension for the proposed Cambo oil field is protected under Investor-State Dispute Settlement terms of Energy Charter Treaty.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Investments in the UK energy sector are potentially in scope of the investment protection provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty. This protection is conditional on a) the details of the investment and b) the investor must be of another Contracting Party to the Energy Charter Treaty.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what environmental impact assessments his Department has carried out on the proposed changes to the Energy Charter Treaty.
Answered by Graham Stuart
If Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty decide to adopt the final text of the modernised Energy Charter Treaty in November this year, the modernised Treaty will come into force once the ratification requirements of the Treaty are met. When deciding whether provisionally to apply or seek ratification of the modernised Treaty, the Government would consider its potential impact on all relevant Government objectives.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment in 2022 of the compatibility of the UK's membership of the Energy Charter Treaty with its commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has assessed that the modernised Energy Charter Treaty is compatible with the Paris Agreement. The modernised treaty reaffirms the respective rights and obligations of the Contracting Parties under multilateral environmental agreements, including the Paris Agreement, and the commitment to effectively implement their commitments and obligations under it.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to ensure that any change to the Energy Charter Treaty is scrutinised by both the House of Commons and House of Lords.
Answered by Graham Stuart
If the modernisation amendments to the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) are agreed by Contracting Parties to the ECT at the Energy Charter Conference on 22 November, the Government will lay the modernised Treaty text in Parliament accompanied by an Explanatory Memorandum in line with the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaG).
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what engagement his Department has had with non-Governmental Organisations on the Energy Charter Treaty; and if he will list any meetings attended by (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department on that subject.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have engaged with a range of organisations interested in the Energy Charter Treaty, including with Non-Government Organisations including E3G, Trade Justice Movement, Friends of the Earth, Global Justice Now, War on Want and Climate Action Network Europe.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many meetings his Department has had with the Department for International Trade on the Energy Charter Treaty in the last 12 months.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Officials from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have worked closely with officials from the Department for International Trade on the Energy Charter Treaty and held regular meetings in the last 12 months. During negotiations to modernise the Treaty, officials from both Departments held weekly meetings.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the announcement by the French Government to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is closely monitoring the positions of other Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty, including France, and takes into account these positions in its own interaction with the modernisation process of the Energy Charter Treaty.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether her Department has made an assessment of the (a) likelihood and (b) potential impact on renegotiations of a member state withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty will decide whether to adopt the modernised Energy Charter Treaty at the Energy Charter Conference on 22 November 2022. The Government is closely monitoring the positions of other Contracting Parties and considering the possible impacts of other Parties withdrawing from the Treaty.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps her Department is taking to ensure it is able to react of member state of the Energy Charter Treaty withdraws.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty will decide whether to adopt the modernised Energy Charter Treaty at the Energy Charter Conference on 22 November 2022. The Government is closely monitoring the positions of other Contracting Parties and considering the possible impacts of other Parties withdrawing from the Treaty.