UK's historic act

By Molly Webb, Head of Smart Technologies, The Climate Group.

Says Maddy Cobb of TCG:

27 November 2008 is a historic date - just over a year since the UK Climate Change Bill was first introduced to parliament, the Queen gave her Royal Assent to the first piece of legislation anywhere in the world aimed at setting binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In fact three new pieces of legislation became law yesterday - The Climate Change Act, The Energy Act 2008 (which included feed-in tariffs which will pay a guaranteed price for electricity generated from small-scale renewables by households, businesses and communities) and the Planning Act (a few more concerns in this one e.g. makes it easier to give the go-ahead to major infrastructure projects such as airports and road developments).

All three of these areas are crucial, if still leaving open some areas of controversy. Of particular interest for the decarbonisation of our energy supply, feed-in tariffs which have led in Germany and Spain to higher uptake of renewables, will be a great step forward. Smat grid technologies will be a key part of integrating these renewables - and help provide more information about energy to allow householders and utilities to better manage energy production and consumption.

Summary of key provisions

• Legally binding targets: Green house gas emission reductions through action in the UK and abroad of at least 80% by 2050, and reductions in CO2 emissions of at least 26% by 2020, against a 1990 baseline. The 2020 target will be reviewed soon after Royal Assent to reflect the move to all greenhouse gases and the increase in the 2050 target to 80%.
• A carbon budgeting system which caps emissions over five year periods, with three budgets set at a time, to set out our trajectory to 2050. The first three carbon budgets will run from 2008-12, 2013-17 and 2018-22, and must be set by 1 June 2009. The Government must report to parliament its policies and proposals to meet the budgets as soon as practical after that.
• An Adaptation Sub-Committee of the Committee on Climate Change, in order to provide advice to and scrutiny of the Government's adaptation work.
• New requirement for annual publication of a report on the efficiency and sustainability of the Government estate.
• The creation of the Committee on Climate Change, a new independent, expert body to advise Government on the level of carbon budgets and where cost effective savings could be made. The Committee will submit annual reports to Parliament on the UK's progress towards targets and budgets to which the Government must respond, thereby ensuring transparency and accountability on an annual basis. Adair Turner was appointed Chair earlier this year, and 6 members have also been appointed. (Note that Lord Turner will shortly stand down to concentrate on a new role as chair of the Financial Standards Authority. Recruiting a replacement is in hand).
• International aviation and shipping emissions - the Government will include international aviation and shipping emissions in the Bill or explain why not to Parliament by 31 December 2012.  The Committee on Climate Change is required to advise the Government on the consequences of including emissions from international aviation and shipping in the Bill's targets and budgets. Projected emissions from international aviation and shipping must be taken into account in making decisions on carbon budgets.
• Use of International credits - Government is required to "have regard to the need for UK domestic action on climate change" when considering how to meet the UK's targets and carbon budgets. The independent Committee on Climate Change has a duty to advise on the appropriate balance between action at domestic, European and international level, for each carbon budget. The Government has also amended the Bill in its final stages to require a limit to be set on the purchase of credits for each budgetary period, by secondary legislation subject to the affirmative procedure, and taking into account the Committee's advice.
• Further measures to reduce emissions include powers to introduce domestic emissions trading schemes more quickly and easily through secondary legislation; measures on biofuels; powers to introduce pilot financial incentive schemes in England for household waste; powers to require a minimum charge for single-use carrier bags.
• On adaptation the Government must report at least every five years on the risks to the UK of climate change, and publish a programme setting out how these impacts will be addressed. The Bill also introduces powers for Government to require public bodies and statutory undertakers  to carry out their own risk assessment and make plans to address those risks.
• A requirement for the Government to issue guidance next year on the way companies should report their greenhouse gas emissions, and to review the contribution reporting could make to emissions reductions by 1st December 2010 New requirement also added at Commons Report stage that the Government must, by 6th April 2012, use powers under the Companies Act to mandate reporting, or explain to Parliament why it has not done so.
• New powers to support the creation of a Community Energy Savings Programme, as announced by the Prime Minister on 11 September (by extending the existing Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme to electricity generators)