Parliamentary scrutiny of carbon budgets and airport expansion within the law: Energy Security Secretary sets out commitments to MPs
28 January 2025
Appearing before the Environmental Audit Committee yesterday afternoon, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero made a number of commitments in the Government’s pledge to meet net zero.
The first half of the evidence session focused on international climate leadership and the COP29 climate summit. MPs then discussed net zero and the Government’s clean power by 2030 target.
The commitments made by the Secretary of State included:
- Any expansion sought by UK airports must be justified within the legally binding framework passed by the 2008 Climate Change Act and “any aviation expansion will only be able to go ahead if it is consistent with our Carbon Budgets”.
- The outcome of the upcoming Spending Review will reflect net zero commitments.
- The Government will seek to find common ground on climate with the new US administration, recognising that US renewables investment increased during President Trump’s first term in office.
- The Government will facilitate a “central role” for the Environmental Audit Committee in scrutiny of the Seventh Carbon Budget, once the Climate Change Committee’s advice to Government on the budget is published in February 2025. The Government is required to gain Parliamentary approval for its proposed budgetary level by June 2026, and is required to present a full delivery plan to Parliament thereafter.
- Ministers are to make annual statements to Parliament on the Government’s assessment of the state of climate and nature, offering information on Government action and suggesting how members of the public can contribute emissions reductions and nature recovery.
- Secondary legislation to bring the UK’s contribution to international aviation and shipping emissions within the ambit of the Sixth Carbon Budget and subsequent budgets “is in hand” and “will happen”.
- The Government intends to review and strengthen the UK’s current National Adaptation Programme for adaptation to climate change.
- The Artificial Intelligence Energy Council is to consider the implications for water resources as well as power consumption in the establishment of new large scale AI data centres.
Environmental Audit Committee Chair, Toby Perkins MP, said:
“According to the Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary of State, the net zero transition is ‘unstoppable’.
“A number of important commitments were made to our Committee yesterday afternoon. I welcome assurances that this Committee will have a key role in scrutinising proposals for the Seventh Carbon Budget, given its enormous role in setting the UK’s path to meeting net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“Airport expansion remains a critically important issue in which this Committee, as so many others, is taking a keen interest. The Secretary of State confirmed that airport expansion proposals would only be authorised if they will be consistent with legally binding net zero targets. As a Committee we will be interested in examining the Government’s approach to balancing any increase in aviation emissions with other sectors across the economy. greater offsetting in the sector to justify the move.
“The Committee will be watching the Government’s actions closely and will hold Ministers to account should there be any sense that they intend to deviate from these important policy commitments on climate and the environment.”
Further information
Image: House of Commons