Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Accepted
Challenges measuring carbon reduction and economic growth outcomes in early net zero projects.
Recommendation
We challenged DESNZ on how it was going to measure progress in terms of the potential to achieve carbon reductions and economic growth.44 It told us that individual programmes have set outputs and ‘near-term’ outcomes for what interim measures of success might look like.45 DESNZ agreed that it was a good challenge but told us that for many individual projects, the most practical way to consider success is the achievement of an output, such as installing a nuclear reactor to extract heat.46 It argued that it is harder to measure outcomes such as carbon savings in the early stages.47 Determining which net zero innovations to support
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to improve progress measurement in terms of outcomes, committing the Net Zero Innovation Board's sub-group to consider and agree challenge outcomes for the R&I portfolio by Spring 2024.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2024 5.2 The Net Zero Innovation Board, through its Innovation Delivery Board sub-group, will consider challenge outcomes for the current government net zero R&I portfolio as set out in the Net Zero Research and Innovation Framework Delivery Plan and agree these by Spring 2024. 5.3 The Innovation Delivery Board will regularly monitor progress of the portfolio at each of its meetings. DESNZ intends to publish an update on the Net Zero Research and Innovation Framework Delivery Plan ahead of the next Spending Review. This will allow time for most of the current innovation programmes to complete and an initial assessment against intended outcomes to be considered.