To ask His Majesty's Government who is responsible for undertaking and funding the decommissioning and removal of (1) offshore oil and gas platforms and connections, and (2) offshore wind turbines and connections.

To ask His Majesty's Government who is responsible for undertaking and funding the decommissioning and removal of (1) offshore oil and gas platforms and connections, and (2) offshore wind turbines and connections.

Lords question for short debate on what assessment they have made of recent reports that global heating is likely to pass the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold this year, and how they intend to cooperate with international partners to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Lords question for short debate on what assessment they have made of recent reports that global heating is likely to pass the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold this year, and how they intend to cooperate with international partners to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

To ask His Majesty’s Government how much of the Carbon Capture and Storage Infrastructure Fund they have awarded in contracts to companies involved in the oil and gas industry.

To ask His Majesty’s Government how much of the Carbon Capture and Storage Infrastructure Fund they have awarded in contracts to companies involved in the oil and gas industry.

My Lords, no contracts have yet been awarded through the cluster sequencing process. The amount that may be awarded to individual projects is still

subject to negotiations. Project sponsors are from a range of industries including cement, industrial gases, energy from waste, et cetera. In addition, up to £40 million of the CIF is being spent under the UKRI industrial decarbonisation challenge fund, which aims to deliver significant reductions in industrial carbon dioxide emissions.

My Lords, no contracts have yet been awarded through the cluster sequencing process. The amount that may be awarded to individual projects is still

subject to negotiations. Project sponsors are from a range of industries including cement, industrial gases, energy from waste, et cetera. In addition, up to £40 million of the CIF is being spent under the UKRI industrial decarbonisation challenge fund, which aims to deliver significant reductions in industrial carbon dioxide emissions.

No, I will not give the noble Baroness that assurance, for a number of good reasons. First, in the real world, as opposed to in the noble Baroness’s fantasy green world, CCUS is an essential technology.

No, I will not give the noble Baroness that assurance, for a number of good reasons. First, in the real world, as opposed to in the noble Baroness’s fantasy green world, CCUS is an essential technology.

The Climate Change Committee has said that CCUS is essential and not an option if we are to meet our net-zero goal, which we wish to do. Secondly, in a number of industries—cement and energy from waste, et cetera—CCUS is the only option to decarbonise those industries. Unless the noble Baroness is saying that she wants them all to close down, so that we have no building in this country and import all our cement from overseas, what is her practical solution in the real world to delivering these technologies?

The Climate Change Committee has said that CCUS is essential and not an option if we are to meet our net-zero goal, which we wish to do. Secondly, in a number of industries—cement and energy from waste, et cetera—CCUS is the only option to decarbonise those industries. Unless the noble Baroness is saying that she wants them all to close down, so that we have no building in this country and import all our cement from overseas, what is her practical solution in the real world to delivering these technologies?

It is not one or the other; we need to do both. Of course we need to push ahead with renewables, and I have set out many times in this House how well we are doing. Almost 60% of electricity in the last quarter was delivered by renewables, but CCUS is also essential. We have committed £20 billion-worth of funding to CCUS over the next few years because everybody thinks it essential to meeting our goals. It also offers a massive export opportunity for this country, as we have expertise in many of these technologies. The estimate is that capturing 20 million to 30 million tonnes of CO₂ by 2030 could deliver up to 50,000 jobs, many of them in our industrial heartlands.

It is not one or the other; we need to do both. Of course we need to push ahead with renewables, and I have set out many times in this House how well we are doing. Almost 60% of electricity in the last quarter was delivered by renewables, but CCUS is also essential. We have committed £20 billion-worth of funding to CCUS over the next few years because everybody thinks it essential to meeting our goals. It also offers a massive export opportunity for this country, as we have expertise in many of these technologies. The estimate is that capturing 20 million to 30 million tonnes of CO₂ by 2030 could deliver up to 50,000 jobs, many of them in our industrial heartlands.

My Lords, this makes me think that we cannot win on this. One part of the Opposition does not want to award these contracts at all and the Labour Party thinks we should have done it earlier. The reality is that we are proceeding with negotiations. It is our aim to have the contracts let for the first 10 projects by quarter 3 of next year. This is a really exciting technology, but we need to do the negotiations properly and get maximum value for money for the taxpayer from what is an emerging new industry.

My Lords, this makes me think that we cannot win on this. One part of the Opposition does not want to award these contracts at all and the Labour Party thinks we should have done it earlier. The reality is that we are proceeding with negotiations. It is our aim to have the contracts let for the first 10 projects by quarter 3 of next year. This is a really exciting technology, but we need to do the negotiations properly and get maximum value for money for the taxpayer from what is an emerging new industry.

My noble friend is dogged in his pursuit of this, and I have answered his question before. As he knows, under the last contracts for difference round, a number of tidal projects were successful in receiving funding.

My noble friend is dogged in his pursuit of this, and I have answered his question before. As he knows, under the last contracts for difference round, a number of tidal projects were successful in receiving funding.

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of oil and gas extracted from UK territorial waters was exported in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of oil and gas extracted from UK territorial waters was exported in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of existing oil and gas fields within the UK’s territorial waters is owned by companies headquartered in the UK.

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of existing oil and gas fields within the UK’s territorial waters is owned by companies headquartered in the UK.

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of oil and gas extracted from UK territorial waters was extracted by companies headquartered in the UK in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of oil and gas extracted from UK territorial waters was extracted by companies headquartered in the UK in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of the licensing of new offshore oil and gas with their commitments under (1) the Paris Climate Agreement, and (2) the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of the licensing of new offshore oil and gas with their commitments under (1) the Paris Climate Agreement, and (2) the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework.

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to mitigate the impact of the decline in the size of the North Sea oil sector on the UK economy.

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to mitigate the impact of the decline in the size of the North Sea oil sector on the UK economy.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have held any discussions with BP following reports that the company will fail to meet its climate targets; and what steps they are taking to promote sustainability in oil companies.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have held any discussions with BP following reports that the company will fail to meet its climate targets; and what steps they are taking to promote sustainability in oil companies.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of the suitability of the use of Modular Offshore grids in the North Sea corridor to transport power closer to demand; and what assessment they have made of the implementation of Belgium’s offshore grid in this regard.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of the suitability of the use of Modular Offshore grids in the North Sea corridor to transport power closer to demand; and what assessment they have made of the implementation of Belgium’s offshore grid in this regard.

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to remove barriers experienced by offshore oil and gas workers when seeking to transition to green jobs in the offshore energy sector.

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to remove barriers experienced by offshore oil and gas workers when seeking to transition to green jobs in the offshore energy sector.

My Lords, Great Britain has 1.5 billion cubic metres of gas storage capacity, which equates to approximately five days of peak January demand. Energy security is an absolute priority for the Government, and therefore we welcome Centrica taking the necessary steps to reopen the Rough storage facility this winter, which is its commercial decision. Last week, the North Sea Transition Authority granted its approval to Centrica to open Rough. Centrica has also received approvals from the Health and Safety Executive and Ofgem.

My Lords, Great Britain has 1.5 billion cubic metres of gas storage capacity, which equates to approximately five days of peak January demand. Energy security is an absolute priority for the Government, and therefore we welcome Centrica taking the necessary steps to reopen the Rough storage facility this winter, which is its commercial decision. Last week, the North Sea Transition Authority granted its approval to Centrica to open Rough. Centrica has also received approvals from the Health and Safety Executive and Ofgem.

The noble Lord has made a number of points that deserve an answer. First, it was a commercial decision for Centrica to close the Rough storage facility. Secondly, the reason that the UK has traditionally had lower levels of underground storage than the likes of Italy or Germany is precisely because 45% of our own capacity is from our own domestic resources, which is essentially a huge gas storage facility. We also have 20% of all the LNG unloading facilities in Europe, and in fact the UK has been taking the opportunity during the summer to help the EU, including Germany and other countries, to refill their storage capacities using our LNG import facilities, because they did not have enough of them. So it is a complicated picture, but energy security is a great priority for us, and we are well placed for it.

The noble Lord has made a number of points that deserve an answer. First, it was a commercial decision for Centrica to close the Rough storage facility. Secondly, the reason that the UK has traditionally had lower levels of underground storage than the likes of Italy or Germany is precisely because 45% of our own capacity is from our own domestic resources, which is essentially a huge gas storage facility. We also have 20% of all the LNG unloading facilities in Europe, and in fact the UK has been taking the opportunity during the summer to help the EU, including Germany and other countries, to refill their storage capacities using our LNG import facilities, because they did not have enough of them. So it is a complicated picture, but energy security is a great priority for us, and we are well placed for it.

As I intimated in my previous answer, we are co-operating closely with the European Union, and as I said, throughout the summer, in the quiet months, the UK’s LNG terminals—we have 20% of the entire European capacity—have been working overtime precisely to help our European friends to refill their storage capacity in time for the winter months. Therefore, security is a top priority for us, and of course we work very closely with other suppliers such as Norway, with LNG suppliers, and with our European friends.

As I intimated in my previous answer, we are co-operating closely with the European Union, and as I said, throughout the summer, in the quiet months, the UK’s LNG terminals—we have 20% of the entire European capacity—have been working overtime precisely to help our European friends to refill their storage capacity in time for the winter months. Therefore, security is a top priority for us, and of course we work very closely with other suppliers such as Norway, with LNG suppliers, and with our European friends.