The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on the impact of new oil projects on net zero targets, and a question on the viability of carbon capture and storage, on 12th February 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: Perhaps I might make it a bit wider, to avoid putting the Minister in a difficult situation. We have heard that there are a number of projects that have previously been approved to a certain stage and—at the risk of a pun—are in the pipeline. Have the Government made any estimate of the impact that schemes in this sort of pipeline will have on the UK being able to meet its net-zero targets?
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab, DESNZ): My Lords, there clearly are a number of projects that have gone through the licensing process but have yet to come through to the end. We are confident that at the end of the road —or the end of the pipeline, as the right reverend Prelate put it—we will have a situation where, because of no new licences, we will have a thriving asset in the North Sea. The production will reduce, as it is doing at the moment. This will fit in with our overall strategy towards net zero. Clearly, this needs sensitive management. I cannot say it is an art rather than a science, but it is difficult to be more precise than that.
I also refer the right reverend Prelate to the work of NESO, which has made some points on the role of unabated gas. It is also worth reflecting that much of the oil and gas coming from the UK continental shelf is exported. This is another feature of this very interesting subject.
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I am very grateful for the direction of travel indicated in the Statement. Perhaps I could just ask a couple of questions.
First, I was struck by the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, yesterday—as the Minister and other Members were—on the subtlety around whether biomass is making a negative or a positive contribution. At the moment it seems that, as long as it comes from the right sort of forest, it is almost always treated as being naturally positive. I wonder whether His Majesty’s Government will consider a more subtle understanding, based on the insights of the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, and others, of what should be counted as helping us towards a net zero and what is actually putting more carbon into the atmosphere.
On carbon capture and storage, I remember vividly going to a lecture for alumni at my old college in Cambridge. I am a mathematician and one of my former lecturers was at the cutting edge of carbon capture and storage technology. He was telling us about the work that he was doing with government and others and said that it was just about five or six years around the corner. I think it was probably about 25 years ago that I went to that lecture. It seems that carbon capture and storage is like cold nuclear fusion; it is always just around the corner but never actually comes. Could the Minister give any assessment of how much we can really take note of carbon capture and storage, or is it just another Cinderella that is never really going to happen?
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: It is a very interesting question. If the noble Baroness, Lady Bloomfield, were here, she would say that fusion is just around the corner. We have this STEP programme. We have global leadership here and my officials and people in the industry are very excited about the potential. When I was doing this job 14 or 16 years agreement, people were telling me it would be 20 years away. I emphasise to the right reverend Prelate that there is real optimism that we are seriously going to be able to make advances. It is the same with carbon capture, usage and storage. Again, we have been talking about this for years, but the Government are putting in some serious investment. We know the technology can work and we think it has great potential.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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