Members of a House of Lords committee told energy and climate minister Claire Perry it was “extremely disappointing” that her department had not assessed how a UK exit from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme on 29 March would affect the price of carbon. “UK (and indeed global) citizens would be harmed by a lower price”, they said. The peers also described as “somewhat generic” Perry’s comments on security of supply at least cost, if the UK leaves the EU’s Internal Energy Market in the event of no deal.
The comments came in a letter from the House of Lords EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee, which wrote to Perry to ask for more detail on her plans for a Carbon Emissions Tax in a ‘no deal’ Brexit scenario.
In a no-deal scenario, the UK will set its own carbon price through the Carbon Emissions Tax, which the Minister has proposed at £16/tCO2, this will be adjusted, but the committee questioned whether that would happen often enough, given potential fluctuations in the market.
The letter also asks specific questions on whether they are any closer to reaching an agreement with the devolved administrations regarding the Carbon Emissions Tax and whether they have undertaken specific analysis regarding the impact on cost to consumers of the UK leaving the Internal Energy Market.
Further reading:
Budget 2018: ‘Carbon Emissions Tax’ to replace EU ETS in event of ‘no-deal’ Brexit
Eurelectric reiterates warning over ‘no deal’ for energy sector
OPINION: The UK faces a bleak energy future outside the EU’s internal market
Brexit ‘raises fears over future energy supply and price’ says Lords committee