To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will place a moratorium on building high carbon infrastructure such as expanded airports as part of the covid-19 recovery package.
Answered on
24 November 2020
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s ambitious Ten Point Plan will ensure that our recovery from coronavirus will be green, generate jobs, and bolster the economy, whilst continuing to drive down emissions both now and in the future. Covering clean energy, transport, nature, and innovative technologies, this plan will enable the UK to forge ahead on delivering its net zero target – and to build back better.
In the coming year, the Government will set out further plans for reducing emissions across the economy and delivering net zero. As part of this, the Government is committed to building a Britain with world class infrastructure. Spring Budget 2020 set out that the public sector will invest £640 billion over five years in our future prosperity. The Government will publish a National Infrastructure Strategy in due course, setting out further details on its long-term ambitions.
The UK’s climate change framework enables the Government to determine how best to balance emissions reductions across the economy. Any net emissions increase from infrastructure projects are managed within the Government’s overall strategy for meeting carbon budgets and the 2050 net zero target, as part of an economy-wide transition.