Here are the climate-related sections of speeches by MPs during the Commons debate UK Modern Industrial Strategy.
17:24 Andrew Griffith (Conservative)
The big miss, however, is on energy. We welcomed the Prime Minister’s epiphany this weekend when he announced he would slash green levies on a certain number of businesses. However, the industrial strategy still talks about accelerating to net zero at a time when British business needs the opposite. It is simply mad. Rather than the Business and Trade Secretary—sitting next to the Energy Secretary on the Front Bench—addressing the root causes of high energy costs, this Government seem intent on adding to the web of complexity of taxes, levies and subsidies. There is nothing in the strategy about reopening the North sea—the energy reserves that lie under our own secure feet. It even compounds the problem by imposing further self-harm through a carbon border adjustment mechanism—a tariff by another name—which will cost businesses and consumers in this country dear.
[Source]
16:42 Jonathan Reynolds (Labour)
The shadow Secretary of State attacked net zero. That is a mistake. Why would we turn our back on billions of pounds of investment and all the benefits it could bring? In particular, becoming a country that is not so reliant on volatile foreign gas prices is an obvious thing that we would not want to turn our back on. He seemed to announce a new Conservative position of opposing CBAMs, which deal with carbon leakage and create a level playing field. I am surprised by that, because the previous Conservative Government were strong advocates of them.
[Source]
14:30 Jonathan Reynolds (Labour)
On the substance of the hon. Member’s question, he is categorically wrong. Look at what we are proposing for clean energy and what that means for Scotland. Look at the new supercomputer in Edinburgh and what that means for tech and digital. Look at the creative industries and the brilliant opportunities there. Look at the ambition on net zero and all the opportunities for investment in Scotland while cutting industrial energy bills.
Of course, there are parts of the strategy that respect the devolution settlement, as we would expect. Skills is something we can only address in England. The money has gone to the Scottish Government for whatever they want to do to take that forward. That is just the nature of a national industrial strategy that respects the devolved settlement. Independence would be ruinous for the economy. It would shed Scotland’s renewable energy potential from the customer base in England. I believe that at the time of the independence referendum, the SNP wanted a UK energy market anyway. If the hon. Member was being honest and candid, he would recognise that there are things that come from the massive strengths of the Union, come what may. This is a strategy that speaks to building on those opportunities for every bit of the United Kingdom, especially Scotland. Scotland’s economy could be described by the eight high-potential industrial strategy sectors in this document, so let’s have a bit of optimism and hope for Scotland.
[Source]
18:02 Anneliese Dodds (Labour)
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s determination to reduce energy costs. He has heard about the need for that from me, from many other colleagues and from industry, and he has acted. The previous Government did not act; he has gripped on to this. I welcome that, because it will level the playing field for UK automotive, including for BMW Cowley. Of course, we also need action to incentivise domestic electric vehicle production, rather than the purchase of foreign-made electric vehicles. Will that be included in the ZEV—zero emission vehicle—mandate refresh that is referred to in the strategy?
[Source]
18:04 Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat)
Given the comments of the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith), I also wonder whether the Secretary of State would like to reflect on the fact that the hon. Member’s first role after being elected was as Boris Johnson’s net zero business champion.
[Source]
18:25 Tom Hayes (Labour)
The CBI says that our net zero economy grew by 9% in 2023, and that it was 40% more productive and wages in the sector were 15% higher than the UK average, so I am pleased to say that this industrial strategy is betting on a winner with clean energy. I am also pleased to hear the announcement that the Government will be slashing the cost of energy for industry, but will the Secretary of State tell me, my constituents in Bournemouth and people across the south-west what the industrial strategy will do for the south-west?
[Source]
18:28 Jonathan Reynolds (Labour)
It is important for colleagues to understand that the modern industrial strategy published today provides a tool through which other non-economic Government Departments can filter their own policy decisions, in a way that is consistent and to the benefit of UK business. For instance, the Home Office will publish its exemptions to the more restrictive skilled worker visa in relation to what the sectors set out in the strategy need and, for the first time, decisions will be made through that lens. My hon. Friend mentions a specific piece of work by colleagues in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on the workforce strategy, to which they are committed. I do not have a timescale for that, so I will ensure that I or colleagues write to him about it. The prize here is genuinely joined-up Government. To be frank, the preparation of the strategy has not always been easy, but it is the kind of consistent approach to policy, competition and competitiveness in the UK that is very important.
[Source]
18:39 Allison Gardner (Labour)
The industrial strategy rightly recognises the role of ceramics as a key foundational industry and, of course, the central role of Stoke-on-Trent not just historically but in the exciting new world of advanced ceramics—providing parts for wind turbines and even small modular reactors, if we get the investment our way. As the Secretary of State has mentioned, ceramics has the additional challenge of being a gas-intensive industry. As such, I welcome the Government’s commitment to the energy-intensive industries compensation scheme—a snappier name would be nicer—particularly in supporting decarbonisation and technological innovation. May I ask the Secretary of State what specific support is planned to aid the ceramics industry, not only in managing its energy costs but in supporting its decarbonisation?
[Source]
18:40 Jonathan Reynolds (Labour)
I thank my hon. Friend for her question. She has already heard me outline the eligibility, and the foundational role that ceramics plays in the strategy and the support it can receive. She is also right that we have committed to the energy-intensive industries compensation scheme review that the industry wanted. We should all recognise that the ceramics sector faces more challenges with decarbonisation than some other sectors, and we have to be a supportive partner in that, particularly by recognising some of the technological limitations that currently exist. As I said in answer to a previous question, we have to look at where we are—perhaps we have higher emissions from a sector, but where is that sector internationally? Would it be in our interest to see those emissions exported abroad and emissions as a whole go up? I do not think it would. That is the approach I will always take to the ceramics sector or any other sector to ensure that we are doing the right thing, both for the climate and for British jobs and British industry.
[Source]