3 December 2020
Peter Aldous urges investment in new green port infrastructure to help meet decarbonisation targets

Peter Aldous welcomes the inclusion of clean maritime in the Government's Green 10-point plan to reduce carbon emissions and calls on the Government to ensure that there is a comprehensive cross-departmental strategy for investment in new green port infrastructure.

Maritime Industry: Decarbonisation

Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)

What steps his Department is taking to help the maritime industry to decarbonise. (909706)

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Robert Courts)

The Government have recently committed £20 million to support clean maritime technology, and further plans will be set out in the forthcoming transport decarbonisation plan.

Peter Aldous

The inclusion of clean maritime in the 10-point plan and the announcement of the £20 million demonstration project are extremely welcome. Can the Minister confirm that he is working with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to produce a comprehensive strategy for investment in new green port infrastructure so that ports such as Lowestoft can make the most of the exciting opportunities emerging in renewable energy and sustainable fishing?

Robert Courts

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: there can be no clean maritime without clean ports. He is absolutely right to raise the opportunities that exist for our ports, and I thank him for his tireless, passionate advocacy for Lowestoft. I can confirm that my Department, DEFRA and BEIS meet regularly to ensure that our work is aligned and, in particular, that our work on renewable energy and maritime decarbonisation is complementary in approach, because providing the former is a big part of providing the latter.

Hansard