Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Maritime Industry: Decarbonisation

Thursday 9 September 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The port of Falmouth has preserved over 100 acres of sea grass and is working towards environmental goals.
  • The Minister committed to working closely with ports like Falmouth to support their transition to net zero.
  • Mike Kane highlighted a funding gap for decarbonisation projects in the maritime sector.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Cherilyn Mackrory
Transport Climate Environment
Context

The question is about working closely with ports like Falmouth to sustainably decarbonise the maritime industry, ensuring growth and prosperity.

Question

The port of Falmouth has a wonderful maritime heritage and huge potential in the industry. It has already done some fantastic environmental work, including the preservation of more than 100 acres of sea grass. Will my hon. Friend commit to working closely with ports such as Falmouth to ensure that we can sustainably decarbonise the maritime industry, while continuing to enable the industry to grow and prosper?

Answer from Robert Courts

I can absolutely commit to that. It is vital that we work with all elements of the maritime industry to accelerate the transition to net zero and to take advantage of the very real opportunities for green growth. Both the British Ports Association and the UK Major Ports Group are represented on our clean maritime council, and I and my officials regularly engage with the trade associations and individual ports on environmental issues.

Answered
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Q2 Mike Kane Lab Wythenshawe and Sale East
Transport Climate Energy
Context

The question addresses the significant funding gap for making developments in maritime decarbonisation a reality, comparing UK investment with other nations.

Question

I agree with the hon. Member for Truro and Falmouth (Cherilyn Mackrory) that fantastic projects are under way across the UK, including in her constituency, to get the maritime sector down to net zero. There is, however, a significant funding gap when it comes to making these developments a reality, and the Government, despite their record, have not done anywhere near enough to address the significant investment shortfall compared with other maritime nations that we compete with. Does the Minister agree that it is imperative that our vital maritime sector gets the support it needs? Will he commit to addressing that and providing the necessary funding to support the research and innovation that is required?

Answer from Robert Courts

I agree with the hon. Gentleman about the importance of decarbonising the maritime sector, but I cannot agree with him about the Government investment. We have invested £20 million in the clean maritime demonstration competition. That seedcorn funding will help to develop the technology that we will be using. It is the largest technology competition ever run by the Department for Transport.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific amount and timeline of additional future funding were not provided, only existing investment was mentioned.

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