Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy for all Public Sector Net Investment (PSNI) decisions to be subject to a test to determine whether they advance the UK’s ability to meet its commitments set out in the Glasgow Climate Pact; and if he will make a statement.

The Glasgow Climate Pact, agreed under the UK’s COP Presidency, aims to keep 1.5 degrees within reach. The UK is fully committed to playing our part to achieve that that goal – both through domestic action and international coordination.

Over the past few years, the Government has gone further than ever before to ensure the climate is at the heart of our decision-making, and we will continue to strengthen the application of our existing processes. The Green Book mandates the consideration of net zero impacts in spending (including resource and capital spending).

The Net Zero Strategy sets out the actions to keep us on track for UK carbon budgets, our 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution, and net zero by 2050. The spending brought forward in the Net Zero Strategy, and confirmed by the Budget and Spending Review 2021, mean that the Government will have committed a total of £30 billion of domestic investment for the green industrial revolution since March 2021. The Office for Budget Responsibility stated this to be broadly in line with the public investment required to keep on track for net zero by 2050.