16:30 The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lucy Frazer)

E10 petrol contains up to 10% renewable ethanol, double the amount that can be blended into E5 petrol. The change is a crucial step in maximising the bad-fuel blending capacity in the UK fuel market and driving transport decarbonisation. It will also support the UK’s biofuel and agricultural sectors.

I will go through some aspects in a little more detail, starting with why E10 is needed. It will allow us to cut carbon emissions from cars, motorbikes and other petrol-powered equipment in use today simply by increasing the limit to which renewable fuel can be blended into standard petrol. Introducing E10 across the whole of the UK could cut transport carbon dioxide emissions by 750,000 tonnes a year, the equivalent of taking 350,000 cars off the road or all the cars in North Yorkshire. The measure is therefore one of the few available to us with an immediate impact, providing the basis for a step change in renewable fuel blending. E10 petrol is a proven fuel that has been introduced successfully in Great Britain and in many nations around the world, delivering carbon savings immediately.

In conclusion, in proposing this draft statutory instrument, my Department has considered carefully a balance of interests. It recognises the need to maximise our efforts to decarbonise vehicles on the road today and to support our domestic renewable fuel industry, while maintaining access to a suitable petrol grade for all. Introducing E10 petrol in Northern Ireland this November strikes the right balance. I commend the statutory instrument to the Committee.

[Source]

16:35 Tan Dhesi (Labour)

From 2030, new petrol and diesel cars will no longer be sold within the UK. However, given the lifespan of new cars, reducing the environmental impact of petrol will be vital in fighting the climate crisis for many decades to come. As the Climate Change Committee noted, the net zero strategy baseline assumes that manufacturers continue to improve conventional vehicle efficiencies in line with previous regulations and that hybrids with a significant zero-emission range will make up a growing and substantial portion of the new car market, yet the Government’s intention is to require only nominal improvements. What assessment have the Government made of the CCC’s recommendation to incentivise efficiency improvements in conventional vehicles?

[Source]

16:39 Lucy Frazer

I thank the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hall Green for his comments and kind words— [ Interruption. ] I thank the hon. Member for Slough for his comments and kind words at the beginning of his speech. He is absolutely right to say that vehicles on roads are responsible for a significant portion of our CO 2 emissions. Transport is responsible for around 24% of carbon in the UK, and 90% of that comes from road emissions, so the hon. Gentleman made a very important point at the outset. He said that we were not ambitious enough, but I remind him that the biofuel supplied under the RTFO saved 5.24 million tonnes of CO 2 in 2020—equivalent to taking 2.5 million vehicles off the road—and of course, that is just one aspect of our plan for decarbonisation. In this area, it is important to ensure that we maintain the right balance, as I said in my speech.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned a number of issues that do not directly relate to the statutory instrument, but which are important and are being addressed by Government. He talked about deforestation and the supply chain, but he will know that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is looking closely at measures to ensure that we plant enough trees. He also talked about the impact on cars more broadly, but he will know that with our zero-emission vehicle mandate, we are phasing out fuel. He asked whether car manufacturers and suppliers will go above the 5.5% level; I would like to reassure him that the targets for the overall blending levels under the RTFO were increased in 2022, and we will continue to increase them until 2032. For all those reasons, and those I outlined at the beginning of the sitting, I commend the regulations to the Committee.

[Source]