Net Zero Review

(asked on 12th July 2021) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish the final report of the Net Zero Review; and whether that report will include an analysis on the potential merits of using hydrogen to decarbonise the UK steel industry.


Answered by
Kemi Badenoch Portrait
Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
This question was answered on 16th July 2021

The Net Zero Review will be published in due course and in advance of COP26.

The final report will be a high-level analytical report that uses existing data to explore the key issues and trade-offs as the UK decarbonises. Against a backdrop of significant uncertainty on technology and costs, as well as changes to the economy over the next 30 years, it will focus on the potential exposure of households and sectors to the transition, and highlight factors to be taken into account in designing policy that will allocate costs over this time horizon.

The Net Zero Review will not include specific analysis of the merits of using hydrogen to decarbonise the UK steel industry. However, earlier this year the Government published the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, setting out its overall approach to reducing emissions from the industrial sector. This includes how we will support fuel switching to low carbon hydrogen in industries such as steel.

The Government is also committed to exploring the development of hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier, alongside electricity and other decarbonised gases. Hydrogen could be an important part of the transition to Net Zero and has the potential to help the economy recover in a stronger, cleaner and more sustainable way.

Finally, the Government is investing directly in hydrogen, having announced a £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund at Spending Review (SR) 20 which aims to kick-start low carbon hydrogen production in the UK.

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