Ørsted responds to Committee on Climate Change report
Responding to the Reducing UK Emissions Progress Report to Parliament from the Committee on Climate Change, Duncan Clark, Head of UK Region for Ørsted said:
The Committee on Climate Change’s report is extremely timely as the Government considers the role renewable energy can play in helping our economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic whilst ensuring we continue the essential work to respond to climate change and keep global warming under 1.5˚C.
We welcome the CCC’s support for the UK delivering at least 40GW of offshore wind by 2030 coupled with driving the necessary decarbonisation of transport and heating and the importance to the industry of a clear timetable for future auctions. The report also recognises the cost reduction journey that offshore wind has gone through in the last decade. This has only been possible because of the stable regulatory regime in this country which has given developers, supply chain businesses and the financial sector the confidence to invest and to support and encourage innovation. This in turn has created huge opportunities for UK supply chain companies, both domestically and overseas, to market the skills and innovative technologies that have been fostered in the UK offshore wind industry.
If we take decisive action now this a success story that the UK can repeat as we move to the next stage of decarbonising our economy. Renewable hydrogen is essential to fully decarbonise “hard to abate” sectors such as industry and transport and allow the UK to achieve its world-leading Net Zero ambitions. We fully echo the report’s call for an ambitious policy package to be developed, and emphasise the importance of such a package enabling renewable hydrogen to be delivered at scale and follow the rapid industrialisation and cost reduction pathway that offshore wind has demonstrated.
