CCC - Infrastructure Bill and UK energy mix

26 Jan 2015 01:51 PM

The Committee on Climate Change has been asked to comment on aspects of the current Infrastructure Bill in its role as independent advisers to Parliament on climate budgets.

It is for the government of the day to decide which policies to pursue providing they are consistent with meeting its legal obligations to the carbon budgets and the 2050 target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In-keeping with our position we will not be commenting specifically on this Bill. We have previously written about shale gas – and will be reviewing the proposed future development of offshore oil and gas as part of our 2015 Progress Report to Parliament .

Matthew Bell, Chief Executive, Committee on Climate Change said:

“The Committee on Climate Change is responsible for advising Parliament about whether the UK is on track to meet its carbon budgets.  Those budgets set a legal cap on total UK greenhouse gas emissions.  Any emissions from the extraction of shale gas in the UK would need to be consistent with those budgets.

We look forward to reviewing in detail the evidence from the EAC.  Our previous work suggests that some shale gas exploitation may be consistent with meeting carbon budgets, if suitable regulation is in place.

This is a new and emerging area and it is important to ensure that future exploitation is consistent with existing carbon budgets and our 2050 target for reducing emissions.  The Committee on Climate Change is able to provide that advice to Government and Parliament.”

We welcome all evidence to help us assess the impact of current decisions on meeting carbon budgets, please refer to our ‘Contacts’ page to submit evidence.