Written Ministerial Statement by Hilary Benn: Update on the Carbon Reduction Commitment - 16 July 2008
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Hilary Benn )
The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) is a new emissions trading scheme for large non-energy intensive commercial and public sector organisations. The scheme will place an emissions cap on up to 5,000 large business and public sector organisations responsible for around 14 million tonnes of carbon (MtC) emissions each year.
In March this year we published a Government Response to our consultation on the implementation proposals for CRC. I am able to announce today progress on a number of CRC scheme design issues. We propose to operate the CRC on a financial rather than calendar year and propose to permit participants to use allowances from the fixed price sale in the second year to cover their first year emissions. This will reduce the gap between allowance sales and the recycling of allowance revenue to just 6 months. There are a number of other proposed CRC scheme wide amendments to improve the operation of the scheme. We will invite views in the consultation on the scheme regulations later this year on these proposed amendments.
We also said in the Government Response to our consultation that we would review whether to include schools in the scheme. Respondents to the consultation highlighted the wide potential for energy efficiency in schools and so urged us to require local authorities to include schools as part of their estate for the purposes of CRC, rather than taking the voluntary approach we proposed. The Government, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government have decided to include schools in Great Britain in the scheme. All state-funded schools will be included under the umbrella of their local authority; qualifying local authorities will participate on their behalf in CRC. In this way schools will not be required to participate directly in emissions trading as this will be the responsibility of the local authority. Schools will have to report annual energy-use data to their local authority and will be able to share the benefits of CRC in the form of improved energy-efficiency and reduced energy bills. It will also give schools the opportunity to involve children in delivering energy-efficiency improvements and carbon reductions and in safeguarding the future of the environment. In Northern Ireland, where schools are not overseen by local authorities, the Executive is considering whether and how best to include schools in the scheme.
I have deposited copies of our policy paper setting out progress in the House Library.
Page published: 16 July 2008