Energy Security and Net Zero – in the House of Commons at on 21 May 2024.
Justin Madders
Shadow Minister (Future of Work), Shadow Minister (Employment Rights and Protections)
What recent discussions she has had with businesses and investors on the Government’s net zero targets.
Justin Tomlinson
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Our Department’s ministerial team meet regularly with industry, for example through the hydrogen investor forum, the Offshore Wind Industry Council, the solar taskforce, the green jobs delivery group, and the cross-cutting Net Zero Council.
Justin Madders
Shadow Minister (Future of Work), Shadow Minister (Employment Rights and Protections)
Last week, Stellantis, the owner of the Vauxhall car plant in Ellesmere Port, announced that it would import electric vehicles, despite the fact that we produce some great electric vans in Ellesmere Port and want to move on to producing cars there as well. Does the Minister think that, over the long term, reaching our net zero targets through the import of cheaper Chinese vehicles will be a good or bad thing for the UK car industry?
Justin Tomlinson
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The hon. Member raises a very important point. One of the Opposition’s main pledges, which is to fully decarbonise the grid by 2030, could be met only by opening the floodgates to cheap Chinese imports—the exact thing he is opposed to.
James Gray
Chair, Environmental Audit Sub-Committee on Polar Research, Chair, Environmental Audit Sub-Committee on Polar Research
Many unwelcome applications for large-scale solar farms, such as Lime Down in my Constituency, are funded by offshore companies such as Macquarie, which is most famous for letting Thames Water fall to pieces. What meetings has the Minister had with these speculative investors to ensure that the people who build solar farms will be there in 40 years to make sure that they are removed?
Justin Tomlinson
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My hon. Friend and Constituency neighbour raises an important point about speculative development. As part of speeding up the grid queue, in which we have somewhere in the region of 700 GW of power capacity coming forward, we wish to prioritise shovel-ready schemes, not speculative schemes.
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