Here are the climate-related sections of speeches by MPs during the Commons debate Energy Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting).
09:48 Andrew Bowie (Conservative)
The envisaged greenhouse gas removals business model would also require a counterparty to manage the contracts, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is currently assessing options as to the most appropriate organisation to perform that function.
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09:54 Andrew Bowie (Conservative)
Government amendment 4, therefore, makes it clear that a low-carbon hydrogen producer must carry out activities in the United Kingdom, which is to be defined in subsection (9) as including activities in, above or below: (a) the territorial sea adjacent to the United Kingdom; and (b) waters in a renewable energy zone, within the meaning of chapter 2 of part 2 of the Energy Act 2004.
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Andrew Bowie (Conservative)
I do indeed have an answer for the hon. Gentleman. As the hon. Gentleman and I have set out in Committee and in the letter, the territorial sea adjacent to the United Kingdom is the sea that extends 12 nautical miles from the low-water line along the coast, as defined in section 1 of the Territorial Sea Act 1987. However, the renewable energy zone extends from the boundary of the territorial sea to an area within the UK’s exclusive economic zone.
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10:01 Andrew Bowie (Conservative)
Government amendment 5 relates to the territorial application of chapter 1 of part 2 of the Bill. As drafted, the provisions do not expressly set out the territorial application of provisions establishing the framework for carbon capture revenue support contracts for counterparties. Amendment 5 therefore makes it clear that a carbon capture entity must carry out activities in the UK in line with Government intentions to support the deployment of CCUS across the UK.
Greenhouse gas removal technologies will have an important role to play in reaching net zero to mitigate the impact of residual emissions from hard-to-abate sectors, and the Government have been very clear on their intention to capitalise on the economic benefits from that emerging sector. Government amendment 9 will enable the Government to assign the most appropriate counterparty to oversee contractual support to GGR developers over the coming decades as the technologies and their corresponding regulation evolve. That avoids the risk that the resignation of a single counterparty negatively impacts other carbon capture and business models choosing to remain with their originally designated counterparty. The amendment forms part of our broader approach to uphold our commitments and scale up engineered GGRs to deliver new export opportunities, unlocking high-quality green jobs across the UK.
Alongside other measures in the Bill, Government amendment 10 seeks to clarify the language used in the title section of the Bill to reflect that multiple forms of carbon capture, including greenhouse gas removals, can be enabled under the legislation. The amendment forms part of our broader approach to uphold our commitments and scale up engineered GGRs to deliver new export opportunities, unlocking high-quality green jobs across the UK. Government amendments 7 and 8 are consequential on amendment 10 and enable the appointment of a counterparty for any of the types of carbon capture revenue support contract.
The powers under clause 64 are expected to be first exercised in relation to the successful projects coming through the ongoing CCUS cluster sequencing process. The current expectation is that, in future, industrial carbon capture business model revenue support contracts will be awarded by way of a more competitive allocation process, enabled by provisions that are also in the Bill.
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Andrew Bowie (Conservative)
All I would say to the hon. Gentleman is that, of course, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. While I do not deny that the Government and the Opposition were thinking along the same lines at exactly the same time, and therefore came to the same conclusion, I am glad that he is not going to press amendment 84 to a vote, and that he accepts that the definition in our amendment covers the definition of direct air capture and carbon storage. We share the view that greenhouse gas removal technologies will be essential to reach net zero, and I am glad that, as has so far been the case with most of the Bill, there is broad cross-party agreement about where we are headed, and definitions required to get there.
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10:13 Andrew Bowie (Conservative)
CCUS-enabled hydrogen projects are also expected to play a key role in the Government’s plans to deploy CCUS in four industrial clusters by 2030. Other countries are investing heavily in hydrogen and CCUS, and it is important that we do not miss this opportunity to deliver high-quality jobs and growth.
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10:17 Dr Whitehead
“The Net Zero Secretary is understood to be ‘not at all convinced’ that the levy should go ahead, after fierce criticism from Tories.”
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10:40 Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative)
I thank the hon. Member for Southampton, Test for what was almost a warm-up act to introduce me to the stage. I agreed with every word: we do have to take the public with us, and a movement is building in the country against net zero and an increase in bills. There are many issues, as he has outlined.
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10:52 Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative)
These are important areas. We must not be blind to the fact that the public are losing faith in the climate agenda overall. There are many reasons why that may be happening. It may well be just algorithms on social media that draw certain people together, but we cannot be blind to the fact that there is a growing movement against net zero. There is a growing movement in this House to talk about having a referendum on whether we want to achieve net zero. Some colleagues are now pushing that forward.
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10:54 Olivia Blake (Labour)
Government amendment 12 is almost a wrecking motion for net zero, because the opposition to this will be huge. I ask the Minister to think hard about whether the Government want to champion such a burden on households when it is not clear whether the benefit will ever fall on households. We do not yet know the questions about hydrogen, let alone the answers, or what the benefits to home heating will be, if that is the path we go down as a nation when there are many alternatives growing at speed, as we have discussed. I think the Government’s amendment is very challenging. I urge them to think again for the benefit of all those who struggle to pay their energy bills now and for those who may struggle in future if the levy comes in.
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10:57 Kerry McCarthy (Labour)
I want to add to what has been said on both sides of the Committee Room today about how unwise it is for the Government to go down this path. I do not agree with what the right hon. Member for Elmet and Rothwell said about how we should not conflate public feeling about net zero with public concern about energy bills; the green transition and the move towards renewables will bring in cheaper energy and enhance our energy security, so I do not accept his arguments. However, if I were to argue that point with him, you would quite rightly say that I was broadening the debate beyond the parameters of the Bill, Mr Gray, so I will save my remarks for this afternoon’s Westminster Hall debate on the Government’s approach to net zero.
At the heart of the issue is what the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Test, said: consumers want to know how this will come to us. I share the concerns—my hon. Friend listed the other green levies in legislation, but the difference is that we can see a benefit from investment in such fields—but the hydrogen levy will mostly be to the benefit of energy-intensive, hard-to-decarbonise industries, and consumers will rightly feel that they are paying for something from which they will not receive the benefit.
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