Carbon Emissions 2020-01-07
2020-01-07
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The UK Government offers more financial support than any other European state for fossil fuel industries, despite the climate emergency.
Helen Hayes asks how a government that continues to subsidise fossil fuel extraction can be trusted to deliver net zero emissions when Shell paid no corporate income tax last year due to tax rebates despite making £557 million profit in the UK.
The most important thing to recognise is that last year was the first year on record in which renewable energy constituted more of our energy mix than fossil fuels. We also need to recognise that oil and gas support many thousands of jobs in the United Kingdom, and we must be careful not to jeopardise economic growth during the transition.
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Q2
Direct Answer
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Context
The topic concerns the upcoming Budget and its focus on clean growth.
We are clear that this is a central priority for the Budget in March. Obviously, I am not going to disclose details of that today, but the Government have a clean growth strategy.
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question. We are clear that this is a central priority for the Budget in March. Obviously, I am not going to disclose details of that today, but the Government have a clean growth strategy. We are clear that green finance lies at the heart of the UK's offer to the world, and obviously that goes for both the private and public sectors; we need to bring together the whole strength of the country to make a truly radical offer.
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