4. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Climate Change: COP26

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:08 pm on 16 November 2021.

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Photo of Lee Waters Lee Waters Labour 4:08, 16 November 2021

Well, I think that it's a fair challenge. I don't have the figure to hand, but I recall reading that the subsidy that the UK Government has given to fossil fuels through freezing the fuel duty escalator since 2010 is in excess of £30 billion. It may even be higher than that—a very significant direct subsidy to fossil fuels.

One of the challenges that we will have is, as we move away from the internal combustion engine car—. To give credit to the UK Government, they have shown bold international leadership on phasing out petrol and diesel cars by 2030. We signed up to an alliance at COP for making sure that other countries, the major countries, did the same by 2035. But, even by that target, the UK is going to be five years ahead of it, and I think, credit where credit is due: that is something that the UK Government has done that we warmly endorse.

There will be consequences to that in terms of the way that fossil fuels are taxed. Clearly, we currently have petrol tax. When your car doesn't rely on petrol, you won't be able to have the revenues from petrol tax. So, there will need to be a different form of taxation flowing from that. But, of course, unless the electricity generated to fuel those electric cars is sustainably sourced, then you are simply shifting the problem from one place to another.

So, certainly it is our ambition to make sure that we are relying on green fuels and green hydrogen and wind generation for electricity, which will move us away from fossil fuels. So, providing the example of changing our energy mix is one way we can move away from the subsidies for fossil fuels. But I guess the truth of it is that we've created an economic system that is intrinsically linked with the supply of cheap energy, and cheap oil in particular, that is interwoven into so many of the activities we do and the decisions that we've made. So, untangling ourselves from that is no easy or simple feat, and I don't want to pretend otherwise, but that is something that we all have to work together to do. And I must say, the UK Government are not encouraging in that sense, because they are sending mixed signals. They're talking big at COP, but in the budget, or two weeks before that, did not mention climate change once, introduced subsidies for domestic aviation, and continued the direct fossil fuel subsidy for fuel duty. So, they need to confront their cognitive dissonance, as do we all.