Luke Taylor

I know that the hon. Member has a lot of knowledge on this issue. I think that looking at all the options that maintain capability is critical. What might come out of this is an ask for this Minister— or potentially the aviation Minister, the hon. Member for Selby (Keir Mather)—to sit down with our APPG, in which there is a lot of expertise, to talk about some of the ways that we can maintain capability but also achieve our transition and net zero goals. A pragmatic approach could be not to apply the rules to smaller users of hydrogen—for example, where hydrogen accounts for less than 5% of feedstock—while a longer time is taken to consider the impacts for large-scale hydrogen users. I now turn to our wider ecosystem of logistics infrastructure. Pipelines, storage and distribution networks are essential for connecting supply and demand, especially as the market shifts towards sustainable fuels and as we look to improve our energy security. For example, Exolum, which runs a 2,000 km onshore pipeline network that delivers 40% to 50% of the aviation fuel used for UK flights each year, is transforming its aviation fuel pipeline network to supply SAF. To unlock further investment in the infrastructure and ensure a just transition, industry is calling for long-term policy signals, such as extending and increasing renewable fuel mandates; targeted incentives like business rates relief and payment holidays for new infrastructure; inclusive subsidy schemes for hydrogen storage; and fast-tracking obligations for renewable liquid heating fuels. At present, most support for fuel infrastructure is directed towards large-scale production projects. Conversely, investment in storage and distribution infrastructure is increasingly undertaken at an operator’s own risk and often ahead of immediate market need. That imbalance is amplified by a business rates system that can disincentivise new investments and high-end capital projects—including energy transition initiatives—especially when the investment is by overseas companies likely to be looking for more cost-effective placement of funding in countries with more generous and strategic policies. How will the Minister ensure that policy and investment frameworks can support storage and distribution infrastructure, thereby enabling the development of a future-ready energy system, capable of responding to evolving market conditions and minimising supply chain risks? The Liberal Democrats urge the Government fully to grasp the opportunities that our industrial capacity and workforce capability offer our country, to lead the world in a transition to next-generation fuels and energy. It is in our blood and our tradition as a country to grapple with these big technological questions, so it should be up to us to show what real leadership on the just transition looks like—not just because great feats of engineering are impressive in their own right, which they are, but because a whole generation of people whose lives and careers have been shaped by our oil refineries and wider energy sector, and future generations, are counting on that leadership. In recent years, the Conservatives abandoned it. We urgently need to get it back and provide stability for the communities most affected. Home-grown, local renewable energy and fuels can be clean, cheap and popular, and they embed resilience. The Government must work with industry because striving for theoretical perfection, rather than ambitious but deliverable policy, risks choking the sector and neutering this revolution. Our engineers and industry stand ready to deliver, as they have done time and again, the greener economy that we need and that communities up and down the country deserve.