Last week the Public Accounts Committee held an evidence session in response to the publication of the National Audit Office report: Achieving Net Zero. With COP26 now just nine months away, it is imperative that the UK provides international leadership on curbing carbon emissions as countries pledge new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
In this evidence session, Barry and other Committee members were able to scrutinize decarbonisation plans of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and HM Treasury. Barry asked the BEIS Permanent Secretary to reconcile the approval of the UK’s first deep coal mine since 1987 with the Government’s Energy White Paper and net-zero target and pushed for clarity on plans to meet Fourth and Fifth Carbon Budgets.