Coal

This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on coal. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.

Standard Notes

Date	Description
04.03.2013	Energy imports and exports
	After spending most of the previous 25 years as a net exporter of energy the UK became a net importer in 2004. The gap between imports and exports has increased since 2004 and this looks set to continue to increase in the future. This, alongside higher fuel prices and increased concern over the security of energy supply has increased the attention on energy imports and exports.
08.02.2013	Carbon Price Floor
	This note summarises the Governmnent plans to introduce a carbon price floor by April 2013
16.01.2013	Energy prices
	The price of domestic gas and electricity has generally increased over the past eight years after around a decade of falling prices. The cost of heating oil has increased by a larger amount. There have been some price cuts over the past few years, but these have been smaller than the price rises. So far this autumn five of the big six energy suppliers have increases gas and electricity prices by between 6% and 11%. Domestic prices have ratcheted up as higher operating, network and environmental costs and higher supplier margins have magnified the impact of longer term increases in wholesale costs. In the medium to long term the pressures on price all appear to be upwards and the only way for most consumers to reduce the impact of increased unit costs, and even to reduce their bills, is through energy efficiency improvements.
03.04.2012	Carbon capture and storage
	On 3 April 2012 the Government launched a new £1bn competition for carbon capture and storage (CCS) development, and a 'roadmap' for CCS. An earlier competition was to result in the first commercial scale CCS demonstration project at Longannet, but this project was cancelled in 2011, and the NAO was critical of this in its March 2012 assessment.
25.11.2011	Carbon Capture and Storage: additional background
	This note (March 2011) examines the policy and issues relating to carbon capture and storage and in particular, how it relates to coal-fired energy generation.

Research Papers

Date	Description
06.09.2011	Energy Bill [HL]: Committee Stage Report
	This is a report on the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Energy Bill. It complements Library Research Paper 11/36 (Energy Bill) prepared for the Commons Second Reading.
04.05.2011	Energy Bill [HL]
	This briefing on the Energy Bill has been prepared for the Second Reading Debate in the House of Commons. The flagship policy in the Bill is the 'Green Deal', a scheme whereby homes would be given finance upfront to make energy efficiency improvements, which would then be paid for by energy bill savings. The Bill would also set up a new obligation on energy companies to help certain groups of consumers with saving energy, who need extra support. The Bill also introduces a range of other measures designed to improve energy efficiency; such as facilitating the roll-out of smart meters, widening access to energy performance certificates and making information on energy bills clearer. The Bill also provides measures designed to help improve energy security, to encourage low carbon generation and to grant additional powers to the Coal Authority to charge for certain services.
17.02.2010	Energy Bill: Committee Stage Report
	This paper summarises the House of Commons Second Reading and Committee Stage proceedings of the Energy Bill. The Bill received its Second Reading on 7 December 2009. It was not amended in Committee. The Bill will introduce an incentive to support up to four carbon capture and storage (CSS) demonstration projects in the UK. CSS is a way of reducing the impact of fossil fuel emissions by capturing carbon dioxide. It will also introduce mandatory support to lower energy bills for the most vulnerable, increase the powers of the industry regulator, Ofgem, and give the Secretary of State the power to ban cross-subsidy between gas and electricity accounts.
03.12.2009	Energy Bill. Bill 7 2009-10.
	The Bill would introduce: a carbon capture and storage incentive to support the construction of up to four UK demonstration projects, to be chosen in a competition; mandatory social price support to lower energy bills (social tariffs) for the most vulnerable, which would replace the current voluntary agreement which expires in 2011. It would also add ensuring security of supply and protecting consumers to the objectives of the regulator, Ofgem; increase the regulator's powers to deal with exploitation of electricity distribution constraints by generators; and increase Ofgem's power to fine companies. It would give the Secretary of State the power to ban cross-subsidy between gas and electricity accounts.
23.04.2008	Energy Bill: Committee Stage Report
	[Bill 79 of 2007-08]

Select Committee Reports

Date	Description
26.08.2009	Carbon capture and storage (CCS).
	Government response. Department of Energy and Climate Change report [Commons]

Early Day Motions

Date	Description
11.01.2012	DURHAM MINERS' GALA (No. 2)
	That this House welcomes the publication of The Big Meeting: a history of the Durham Miners' Gala which has been written by the former miner David Temple; recognises the huge amount ...
08.11.2011	CERREJÓN COAL COMPANY MINE, COLOMBIA
	That this House expresses concern about the devastating social and environmental impacts of the Cerrejn Coal company's huge opencast coal mine in Colombia, owned in equal parts by London-listed ...
15.03.2011	PROPOSED OPEN PIT MINE IN BRISTOL BAY, ALASKA
	That this House notes with concern plans by UK-based mining company Anglo American to develop an open pit mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska; further notes that residents of Bristol Bay, many ...
16.12.2010	PRETORIA PIT MINING DISASTER CENTENARY
	That this House acknowledges the 100 year anniversary of the Pretoria Pit Disaster, the third largest coal mining disaster in British history, which saw the loss of 344 men and boys ...
02.11.2010	TONYPANDY RIOTS
	That this House commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Tonypandy riots, which started with a skirmish between striking miners and local police at the Glamorgan Colliery in Llwynypia ...

POST Papers

Date	Description
23.01.2012	Measuring Energy Security
	This POSTnote explores ways in which energy security may be measured for monitoring purposes.
01.06.2009	CO2 capture, transport and storage, June 2009
	This POSTnote details the main carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies and considers their safety and legal issues. This is followed by an overview of global CCS projects as well as a discussion of UK and EU policy.