Written questions by Lewis.

Whether a representative of his Department will attend the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, hosted by the Colombian and Dutch governments.

The Government is committed to driving the global transition away from fossil fuels and will be represented at senior level at the Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels. The Government is aware of the interest in ISDS, and in line with HMG’s Trade Strategy, the UK will continue to work with trading partners multilaterally, such as the OECD and the UN, to pursue opportunities to improve ISDS practice.

If his Department will adopt negotiating objectives for addressing international legal barriers, particularly those arising from investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), during the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels.

The Government is committed to driving the global transition away from fossil fuels and will be represented at senior level at the Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels. The Government is aware of the interest in ISDS, and in line with HMG’s Trade Strategy, the UK will continue to work with trading partners multilaterally, such as the OECD and the UN, to pursue opportunities to improve ISDS practice.

With reference to the press release entitled US-UK pact will boost advances in drug discovery, create tens of thousands of jobs and transform lives, published on 16 September 2025, which regulations he plans to (a) change and (b) repeal under the civil nuclear deal.

The civil nuclear deal referenced in the press release of 16 September 2025 forms part of a broader strategic partnership between the United Kingdom and the United States, aimed at accelerating innovation and infrastructure delivery across key sectors, including clean energy. The significant time savings referenced in the deal will be achieved by our regulators working in partnership with their US counterparts to align licensing processes and share technical analysis, without the need for any changes to regulation. It will enable British families to benefit from cleaner, more reliable energy and supporting the creation of high-quality jobs. In addition, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) & Ministry of Defence (MoD) has commissioned the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce to examine the regulatory framework governing civil nuclear development. The Taskforce is considering a range of options to streamline regulation, whilst maintaining the UK’s high standards of nuclear safety, security and environmental protection. The Taskforce’s final report has not yet been published. It would therefore be premature to confirm which specific regulations may be subject to change or repeal. Any proposals will be set out in full in the final report and in the government’s response.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policy on LNG imports to the UK of the report entitled Energy, Economic, and Environmental Assessment of U.S. LNG Exports, published in 2024 by the US Department of Energy.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is aware of the report published in 2024 by the US Department of Energy. DESNZ monitors developments in the global Liquified Natural Gas market closely and considers a wide range of sources in doing so. The USA is, and will continue to be, an important supplier of LNG for the UK.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) the number of contracts for imports of US Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and (b) LNG import infrastructure.

Liquified natural gas (LNG) is bought and sold on the global market by commercial organisations and, as such, the government does not play a role in securing or assessing contracts. The government works closely with the gas system operator and is confident that they have the tools they need to effectively balance supply and demand in a wide range of scenarios, as they have done in previous years. The government annually reviews the availability of gas for meeting the reasonable demands of consumers in Great Britain (GB), considering the short and long-term, through the Statutory Security of Supply Report. This includes an assessment of the adequacy of LNG import infrastructure, and notes that GB will continue to benefit from a diverse set of import routes and the second largest LNG import infrastructure capacity in Europe.

If he will publish the (a) start date, (b) end date, (c) annual gas volume, (d) contract value, (e) supplying country, (f) supplying company and (g) importing company of contracts for the import of gas to the UK.

This is not information the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero owns.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing local supply rights for community energy schemes to sell clean power locally.

The Department is considering a range of reforms to unlock renewable investment and pass through the benefits of cheaper renewables to consumers. This includes potential changes to support local and community energy. The Secretary of State previously commissioned Ofgem to explore policy and regulatory barriers to local supply, including route to market challenges. We are also learning from the responses to the Call for Evidence on barriers to community energy [1], which referenced local supply issues. The Department continues to work with Ofgem and key stakeholders to enhance our community energy offer. We will set out further detail in due course. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/barriers-to-community-energy-projects

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring carbon capture, usage and storage organisations in receipt of Government funding to be (a) headquartered in the UK and (b) f

We’re committed to securing the economic benefits for the UK from pioneering CCUS deployment. It is expected to add around £5 billion per year to the UK economy by 2050 and the backing of these first 2 CCUS sites sends a clear signal to investors that the...

What recent public consultation his Department has undertaken on the efficacy of carbon capture, usage and storage technology.

CCUS will be vital to this government’s commitment to create good jobs in Britain’s industrial heartlands, ensuring a just transition for the industries based in the North Sea, and accelerating towards Net Zero.The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the UK’s...

With reference to the press notice entitled Government reignites industrial heartlands 10 days out from the International Investment Summit, published on 4 October 2024, if he will publish a

CCUS will be vital to this government’s commitment to create good jobs in Britain’s industrial heartlands, ensuring a just transition for the industries based in the North Sea, and accelerating towards Net Zero.The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the UK’s...

What plans he has to monitor the (a) carbon emissions and (b) water usage of data centres.

(a) Emissions from data centres that occur in the UK - either directly at their locations or at power stations from their electricity use - are included in our published UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions totals, but cannot be attributed to specific ...

If his Department will publish the evidential basis informing the decision to fund carbon capture, usage and storage clusters announced on 4 October 2024.

The Department plans to release the Full Business Cases (FBCs) for the two clusters next year, in line with the requirements for programmes in the Government Major Projects Portfolio.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential risks of investing in carbon capture storage technology.

The Department has developed a risk management approach for monitoring the risks associated with investing in CCS technology. This approach follows government best practice and has been reviewed and approved by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s ...

Whether he has had recent discussions with Ofgem on setting a timeline to bring heat network pricing in line with prices paid by other consumers.

Officials in my department have been working closely with Ofgem, ahead of the third and final, joint consultation on proposals for heat network regulation. This will include proposals on fair pricing. This consultation will be published in due course.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring (a) financial institutions and (b) other FTSE 100 companies to include information on their employees' commuting emissions within planned publications on carbon footprints.

The Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) policy requires quoted UK companies and large unquoted UK companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) to disclose specified energy and emissions (generally Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, with some limited Scope 3 requirements such as business travel for unquoted businesses) in their annual reports. The costs, benefits and practicalities of wider Scope 3 emissions reporting requirements - including employee commuting emissions – is being assessed to help inform the Government’s decision on whether to endorse the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards in the UK. The Government will provide more information in due course.

If his Department will publish all written representations made by the Crown Estate on proposals for Great British Energy.

On 25th July Government published the Great British Energy Founding Statement, which outlined how the partnership between Great British Energy and The Crown Estate will bring forward and derisk new offshore wind developments, stimulate new technologies in new clean energy sectors and invest in ports and clean energy supply chains. We will set out further detail in due course, as the partnership develops.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of regulating embodied carbon to help meet net zero targets.

Last year, the Government consulted on the possible introduction of Mandatory Product Standards, in other words regulations to limit the embodied emissions of products. In response, the previous Government set out it would not commit to introducing Mandatory Product Standards for any specific sector at that stage. Instead, it was planning to focus on introducing Voluntary Product Standards, which would be a necessary first step. Voluntary Product Standards will establish definitions of low carbon products that can be used as a basis for policies such as green public procurement. The Government plans to consult on these standards in due course.