Lords to hear evidence on the impact of Brexit on carbon pricing
On Wednesday 13th February the House of Lords EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee will hear evidence from researchers, climate experts and industry on the implications of Brexit for carbon pricing in the UK.
Carbon pricing is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the cost of emitting them. One of the main carbon pricing mechanisms in the UK is the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), but it's likely that the UK will withdraw from the EU ETS when we leave the EU.
The Committee will explore the Government's proposed carbon pricing approach in a ‘deal' scenario, which is to create a domestic emissions trading system and link it to the EU ETS, by considering what policy decisions would need to be made to achieve this.
In a 'no deal' situation, the Government intends to implement a Carbon Emissions Tax. The Committee will ask the witnesses what this change would mean for the industry, and whether the proposed tax level is appropriate and how it should be set.
The Committee will begin taking evidence at 10:15 in Committee Room 2 of the House of Lords and will hear from:
- Adrian Gault, Chief Economist, Committee on Climate Change
- Joshua Burke, Policy Fellow, LSE Grantham Institute
- Phil MacDonald, Acting Managing Director, Sandbag
At 11.15am the Committee will question:
- Lawrence Slade, Chief Executive, Energy UK
- Roz Bulleid, Head of Climate, Energy and Environment, EEF
Other topics the Committee will likely cover include:
- Whether the model of the EU-Switzerland ETS link would be appropriate for the UK
- Implications for the UK's carbon budgets
- The views of the devolved administrations
