Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to carbon test each announcement in Budget 2020 against the (a) UK’s 4th and 5th carbon budgets, (b) Climate Change Act 2008 goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and (c) long-term temperature goal in the Paris Agreement to pursue efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels; and if he will make a statement.

The UK is already a world leader in clean growth and last year, the UK became the first major economy in the world to legislate to end its contribution to global warming by 2050. According to independent analysis from PwC, we have reduced the carbon intensity of our economy faster than any other G20 country since 2000.

HM Treasury invites departments to set out the climate impacts of their bids for resources, and ministers take these into account when considering the environmental impacts of proposals.

HM Treasury also launched a review into how the transition to a net zero economy will be funded, and where the costs will fall. The review will publish its findings in Autumn 2020.