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U.K. Should Scrap Its 'Complex' Carbon-Cap Plan, Adviser Says
2010-09-24 09:27:03.787 GMT
By Alex Morales
Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. should scrap a plan set to
start in the second phase of its carbon-reduction program to cap
and auction emissions for large companies and organizations,
the government climate adviser said.
The program known as the Carbon Reduction Commitment already
is complex, and introducing auctions of a fixed amount of
emissions permits in the phase starting in 2013 would make it
worse, the Committee on Climate Change said today in a report on
its website. The U.K. plan covers companies not included in the
European Union Emissions Trading System.
The program covers about 10 percent of U.K. emissions and
encompasses 5,000 companies and organizations including Tesco
Plc, the country's biggest supermarket chain, the universities
of Oxford and Cambridge, hospitals and local governments. They
must pay for their carbon-dioxide emissions starting next year,
and the money raised would be redistributed among them based on
how well they have done in reducing greenhouse gases.
"Current proposals risk making the scheme unnecessarily
complex," David Kennedy, chief executive officer of the
committee, said in a statement. "We are therefore proposing
that government modifies its design to make participation in the
scheme easier for companies and public-sector organizations."
The committee also recommended that the government split
the organizations into public- and private-sector league tables
to avoid channeling money from hospitals and local authorities
to retailers and hotel chains.
In addition to the 5,000 organizations that will have to
pay for their emissions, another 15,000 have to report their
greenhouse gas output by the end of this month. With a week to
go, 35 percent of participants may miss the deadline, the
consultants WSP Environment & Energy said.
"The Committee is right to look at how the scheme can be
simplified for the next phase," David Symons, a director at
London-based WSP, said in an e-mailed statement. "The biggest
challenge currently facing CRC is in making sure that those
organizations that are already obligated actually do register."
Participants risk fines of 5,000 pounds ($7,843) for
failing to register by Sept. 30. Fines then compound at 500
pounds a day.
For Related News and Information:
Top environment stories: GREEN <GO>
Stories about climate change: NI CLIMATE <GO>
Top energy stories: TOP NRG <GO>
--Editors: Mike Anderson, John Buckley.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Alex Morales in London at +44-20-7330-7718 or
amorales2@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or landberg@bloomberg.net.
