Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 36
36
Deferred
Paragraph: 183
We recommend that the Infrastructure and Projects Authority establish clear guidance on the criteria for...
Recommendation
We recommend that the Infrastructure and Projects Authority establish clear guidance on the criteria for exemption from conducting whole-life carbon assessments for public works projects. We further recommend that, not later than the spring of 2023, the Government undertake a feasibility study on the introduction of a low-carbon standard for all public works projects, with a view to its swift implementation.
Government Response Summary
The government is working internationally through the IDDI to establish a common roadmap and principles for whole life carbon and reporting of public construction, and the IPA is running a cross-Whitehall working group to propose a consistent Whole Life Carbon Assessment for public projects by 2023. A consultative process on policies to combat carbon leakage and grow the market for low emissions industrial materials will begin later this year.
Paragraph Reference:
183
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
As set out above, the UK is working internationally through the Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative (IDDI) to establish a common roadmap and principles for whole life carbon and reporting of public construction; this includes the exemptions and reporting criteria. Through the IDDI, countries including the UK plan to make an announcement at the 13th Clean Energy Ministerial meeting in September 2022 in the US. The methodology for the construction stage, in-use and end of life embodied carbon emissions will be the subject of the cross Whitehall working group on Government Construction Metrics run by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA). This working group is joined by various government departments and arm’s length bodies, aiming to propose a consistent Whole Life Carbon Assessment (WLCA) for public projects by 2023. whole life carbon assessment will be the subject for agreement during the IDDI working groups until 2024; UK industry will be invited to participate in these working groups. The IPA’s work on WLC assessments in public construction and the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy Call for Evidence will feed into these working groups as well. In relation to the feasibility study on low-carbon standards, there are also new areas for development in other government organisations. Later this year the Government will begin a consultative process on a range of policies that aim to combat carbon leakage, grow the market for low emissions industrial materials, and identify whether measures such as product standards and labelling, and a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism would be appropriate tools in the UK’s policy mix, to further support carbon reduction targets and improve the availability and quality of underlying data for reporting.