Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 24
24
The Department told us consumption emissions are more difficult to measure than territorial emissions, the...
Conclusion
The Department told us consumption emissions are more difficult to measure than territorial emissions, the latter being the standard approach of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).85 The Department told us that it intends to use product standards and carbon adjustment mechanisms at the border as long- term levers to prevent carbon leakage.86 In its Strategy, government stated its intentions to launch a call for evidence on consumer-focused demand-side low-carbon products as a first step to address issues on product standards by Spring 2022.87 HM Treasury’s Net Zero 78 Qq 42–43; Net Zero Strategy, pages 284, 285 paras 2 and 7 79 Q 2; UK Government Minister meets with energy firm over Cambo - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 80 Q 28; OGUK 81 Committee of Public Accounts, Achieving Net Zero, Forty-Sixth Report of Session 2019 - 21, HC 935, 5 March 2021 82 Q 112; Net Zero Strategy, page 122 para 9 83 Qq 33, 37; Defra, UK’s Carbon Footprint 1997 - 2018 84 Defra, UK’s Carbon Footprint 1997 – 2018; Note dated 15 November 2021 from Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy para 2 85 Qq 33–34 86 Q 37 87 Qq 37–38; Net Zero Strategy, page 131 para 61 Achieving Net Zero: Follow up 17 Review also concluded that carbon leakage was an area where it too needed to do further work.88 On 3 November the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRS) announced ‘prototype’ climate sustainability disclosure requirements.89 HM Treasury told us that government would consider how these will be interpreted for the public sector, but was unable to give us a timeframe for their application.90 Reporting progress and costs
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.