Greg Clark has previous energy experience, having been Shadow Energy Secretary from 2008 to 2010, and was more recently Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. As further junior ministerial appointments are made, the NFU expects there to be an Energy Minister and possibly a Climate Change Minister under the new department, BEIS.
It is now clear that both functions of DECC are being rolled into BEIS, which will be based in the government buildings at 1 Victoria Street.
Dr Jonathan Scurlock, NFU Chief Adviser on Renewable Energy said: "We look forward to working with this new beefed-up ministry which can align UK industrial policy with the decarbonisation of the economy, enabling capital investment in a range of low-carbon technologies and infrastructure that will be of benefit to NFU members."
The NFU is pleased to read in the Government's energy and climate media blog that "tackling climate change remains a key priority....with the creation of BEIS, and is essential in ensuring economic prosperity and security for our country". This addresses one of our policy asks - for consistency in the government’s low-carbon energy plans.