Speeches by Reader.

“That is positive to hear, thank you.”

“I think that you are right that the clean energy mission sits with the Department, but the climate and carbon budget is cross-Government. Do you see as much priority given to that in other Departments as you do in yours, given that the plan you have just referenced talks about fuel and transport? The CCC report is very…”

“It is very positive to hear that the Department is holding a Government-wide view of risk. You just referenced the carbon budget and growth delivery plan, and that very clearly relies on other Departments. Do you see delivery of the clean energy mission being as big a priority to other Departments as it is for DESNZ? I…”

“The Department has recognised the challenge with public perception—you published the Energising Britain strategy—but it does not seem like this big risk to the transition is owned somewhere centrally. Or is that an unfair assessment?”

“It sounds like there is not a corporate risk register of the things that are impacting delivery, or does that corporate risk register exist for the Department, as a single thing that says what the risks are to you delivering on your responsibilities as a Department?”

“On that risk register, would we see the risk of the reduction in public consensus and buy-in to the energy transition? DESNZ’s data shows that 41% of people now have a negative view, versus 22% with a positive view, of the Government’s work on energy transition. Would we see that on the risk register, and where would i…”

“Ryan, does the Department maintain a risk register of some sort, looking at risks to the Department of not delivering on the energy transition?”

“You picked my final question around what the technical, financial or policy barriers are that prevent farms from exploring renewables and exploring renewables beyond solar. It sounds like licensing is one of them.”

“Did this form part of your evidence into the Batters review—in terms of profitability? A large argument for installing renewables, beyond the green issue, is that you can reduce your costs, so do you think that the Batters review was clear enough on the profitability benefits of investing in green technology?”

“There are direct incentives for installing solar from DEFRA that do not exist for some of those other technologies. Could the Government do more to incentivise those other technologies beyond solar?”

“Judicaelle, we have data from DEFRA that shows that there has been uptake of renewables on around a third of farms, but almost all of that is solar. Most farms are not exploring wind or biodigestion—anaerobic digestion—and so on. Why do you think that is?”

“I will pick up on that, then go back to talking about renewables. Would a stronger link in the Government narrative between defence and the need for an energy transition help build better consensus for the investment that we need to make in our energy sector?”

“Are brown bread and baked beans ultra-processed?”

“I was at the same breakfast as Wera yesterday; we heard that the cost of batteries is through the floor and lithium is very cheap at the moment, primarily driven by China’s trade ambitions. If we start building lots of batteries and the price goes up, are we at risk of market extortion from China if we become reliant o…”

“Lawrence, if our supply-side flexibility is provided through large scale energy storage, how much does that add to the cost of bills?”

“How do we avoid the potentially significant costs of the development of large scale energy storage under the capacity market cap and floor scheme and other schemes setting consumer bills for years to come?”

“I will pick up on my point and ask if we could focus on the cost of energy to the consumer. What has a bigger impact on reducing bills? Should we just carry on paying curtailment costs, so we do not have to build loads of batteries, or should we be building batteries to have an impact now on the cost of energy?”

“I will ask the questions on large scale energy storage in a second. In terms of the cost to the consumer right now and in the next few years, and in terms of energy bills, is there more of an impact from the Government paying lots of curtailment costs or from investing in loads of 40 GW of storage? What is actually goi…”

“Lawrence, if our supply-side flexibility is provided through large scale energy storage, how much does that add to the cost of bills?”

“How do we avoid the potentially significant costs of the development of large scale energy storage under the capacity market cap and floor scheme and other schemes setting consumer bills for years to come?”