Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 23
23
In its new Strategy, government recognises the importance of addressing the risk of carbon leakage...
Conclusion
In its new Strategy, government recognises the importance of addressing the risk of carbon leakage so that its net zero interventions do not lead to increased emissions elsewhere, and to ensure that UK industry has confidence to decarbonise.82 The Department sought to assure us that it has not found serious problems with carbon leakage, and that Defra report the UK’s ‘carbon footprint’, which includes consumption emissions relating to imports from China, the EU or the rest of the world. The Department told us that Defra’s data show a declining trajectory.83 However, it should be noted that Defra classes these as experimental statistics because of inherent uncertainties in the estimation of emissions.84
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Winter 2024 6.2 The Net Zero Strategy set out how the government plans to help empower people to make informed choices about the goods and products they buy and services they use by exploring how the government better labels these with their emission intensity and environmental impact. This includes: • Work with the Financial Conduct Authority to introduce a sustainable investment label • The use of product labelling to show the durability, repairability and recyclability of products, • Exploring the evidence base for environmental labelling within food production and disposal, • The government is taking action to ensure that products are more sustainable, both in relation to their energy efficiency during use and use of materials over their lifetime • The government is exploring updating and expanding 'Ecodesign' product regulation which sets minimum requirements to phase out the least energy and resource efficient products from the market. 6.3 In December 2021, the government published a Call for Evidence ‘Towards a market for low emissions industrial products’ to explore policy options to grow the market for lower emissions products, with a view to potential introduction as early as 2025. 6.4 In March 2022, the government established a cross-government Ecolabelling Group to enable a joined-up approach to ecolabelling. The group aims to ensure the public receive clear and easy, consistent and transparent messaging on a range of products and services, to maximise alignment and efficiencies, and to enable best use of ecolabelling within a broader set of policy measures.