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Public Sector: Carbon Emissions

Asked by Carla DenyerGreen PartyDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled Answered 20 October 2025UIN 79902

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of the (a) funding required to fully decarbonise the public sector and (b) adaptation costs from not fully decarbonising that sector.

Answered by Martin McCluskey

The internal estimate made by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero in 2022 suggests that fully decarbonising the public sector would cost between £25–30 billion. The Department is currently updating this based on more recent cost assumptions. No estimate has been made regarding the adaptation costs that may arise from not decarbonising the public sector.

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