Airport expansion and energy-intensive AI roll-out: is net zero on the back burner? EAC quizzes Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The Environmental Audit Committee will next week have the opportunity to explore the extent to which net zero is being considered in the development of Government policy across Whitehall.
The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, in response to the Climate Change Committee’s 2024 progress report to Parliament, stated that Government must be more joined-up in its delivery of net zero. However, with speculation mounting over Government support for airport expansion, and a commitment to build 1.5 million new homes in the next five years, is meeting net zero in Government departments enough of a priority?
Meeting details
The Committee will also shine a spotlight on the Government’s Clean Power 2030 pledge. NESO has previously said that while the challenge is huge, Britain powered by clean power by 2030 is possible. But is championing energy-intensive artificial intelligence – which the International Energy Agency has predicted will lead to data centres’ electricity consumption increasing by between 35% and 128% globally by 2026 – a pressure too far for a clean grid?
In this wide-ranging evidence session, members will also explore the outcome of COP29 and international climate leadership, delivering targets to reduce emissions and restore nature, and parliamentary scrutiny of Government proposals for the Seventh Carbon Budget.