Carbon Emissions: Research

Mr. David Anderson
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has (a) evaluated and (b) commissioned on the volume of carbon dioxide emitted from processes involving the use of indigenous deep-mined coal compared to similar processes involving the use of tar sands, shale and other unconventional oils.

Mr. Mike O'Brien
The Government agrees with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its Fourth Assessment Report which shows that the emissions associated with extraction and conversion of these unconventional sources of energy are several times those associated with conventional sources of oil per unit of energy produced. The Government have not made an assessment of the volumes of carbon dioxide produced by processes involving unconventional sources of oil compared with indigenous coal.