Amber Rudd has acknowledged the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will have to introduce new measures during this parliament to ensure the UK meets legally binding emissions and renewables targets.
Speaking during energy and climate change questions in the House of Commons this morning, Rudd said she did "accept this government needs to put in place more policies to meet our carbon budgets".
Responding to a series of questions from Labour and SNP MPs on the government's recent admission the UK was currently on track to miss its EU renewable energy target for 2020 and its fourth carbon budget target for the mid-2020s, Rudd said she did not accept "depressing" suggestions the targets would be missed.
She reiterated the government's desire to meet all its legally binding targets, but failed to respond to calls from Labour's Barry Gardiner to provide details on how the government plans to meet its goals. She added that there have been concerns about meeting the fourth carbon budget for several years and promised measures for meeting it would be announced in the future.
Rudd was also challenged by the SNP's Angus MacNeil as to whether she would have authorised the recent wave in cuts to clean energy subsidies the result impact on jobs and investor confidence if the Paris Agreement had been delivered a year earlier. She again rejected suggestions recent policy changes had dented investor confidence and undermined the UK's efforts to meet its targets, insisting a new approach to decarbonisation was needed that led to less pressure on consumer bills.
Rudd's comments follow previous suggestions that the government will come forward with a new plan for meeting the fourth carbon budget before the end of this year, fuelling hopes that a series of new policies to support clean technologies will be required.
Separately, Rudd insisted the government does "not rule out carbon capture and storage in the future", despite the cancellation of the £1bn demonstration funding competition and the Prime Minister's recent suggestion the technology was working.
Rudd said the government was continuing to support early stage CCS R&D and would consider deploying the technology in the future.
She also refused to be drawn on calls from Green MP Caroline Lucas for the National Infrastructure Commission to be given a clear climate change remit that would ensure any future infrastructure projects are compatible with the UK's long term climate goals.
In addition Rudd rejected claims from Conservative MPs that renewables were excessively expensive and leading to fuel poverty, arguing that renewables were a "British success story" that were crucial to boosting energy security and delivering decarbonisation.
And in response to questions from Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary Lisa Nandy, Rudd confirmed subsidies to diesel generators will add a few pounds a year to consumer bills, insisting carbon intensive diesel plants would only be used occasionally when needed.
The news brought criticism from the solar industry, with Seb Berry of Solarcentury writing on Twitter that "Rudd says diesel capacity market costs will be 'under £10' on bills. Meanwhile modest STA £1 plan is dismissed by Gvt".
Separately, Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom confirmed that the government will look again at the level of support for solar installations available through the feed-in tariff (FiT) if as feared EU rules force the government to increase VAT on solar panels from five per cent to 20 per cent.
Solar industry insiders have warned that the prospective VAT hike could further restrict the market in the wake of the recent steep cuts to FiT incentives.
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