Energy and Climate Change Committee set goals for parliament

The Energy and Climate Change Committee (ECCC) has set out its three strategic goals for its work over the course of the 2015-20 parliament following a consultation with more than 200 stakeholders.

The committee said it will initially focus in 2016 on influencing the government’s long-term approach to meeting climate targets and delivering a “robust” fifth carbon budget and the associated carbon plan.

Beyond this it will also identify whether all three aspects of the energy trilemma are being addressed by the government in a balanced way, and investigate the potential impact of disruptive technologies.

The committee will particularly investigate whether the UK is adequately prepared to deal with changes that are already happening, and will continue due to disruptive technologies and capitalise on the opportunities these technologies will bring.

It is also considering how we can best scrutinise the government’s approach to decarbonising heat and transport.

Although it has set out long-term goals committee chair Angus MacNeil said the committee recognised the need to respond to policy developments during the course of the parliament.

ECCC chair Angus MacNeil said: “One of the most valuable aspects of select committee work is its evidence-base, and our ability to collect formal evidence and information directly from those most affected by any government policy decision.

“To be as effective as possible, we believe that we need to build on this formal engagement and extend it further to include more informal discussions with a broader range of people and organisations.”

Early in the New Year, the ECCC will be hosting a one-off inquiry session looking at the government’s decision to scrap its £1 billion competition to help develop technology for carbon capture and storage (CCS).