OVERVIEW

The Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme: Defining the Way Forward Conference and Exhibition will provide vital detailed analysis on key areas of relevance and case study examples of best practice that can be applied across both the public and private sectors in order to drive progress on this important agenda.

The Government has announced that the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme will now be introduced in two phases:

The first phase is a three-year introductory phase, which will start in April 2010, when an unlimited number of allowances will be available at a fixed price of £12/tCO2.

From the second compliance year onwards, participants will annually have to purchase allowances, monitor energy use, report emissions and surrender allowances. Participants will also receive a revenue recycling payment each year.

The second phase of the Scheme will begin from 2013, the Government will cap the number of allowances available each year and all allowances will be auctioned - the cap will be set taking into account advice from the Committee on Climate Change which they will provide in 2010.

Following a 12-week consultation process, during which more than 250 responses (from both public and private sector) were recorded, the Government introduced the following update regarding the technical detail of the legislation to implement the scheme and to address some outstanding policy issues on recent proposals:

• To smooth the introduction of the scheme and to help ease the upfront costs, organisations will only have to report emissions in the first year (2010/11). In subsequent years organisations will have to buy allowances corresponding to their emissions from energy use, and then surrender them by the end of the year.
• In the second year (2011/12) extra weighting will be given to organisations which take action early to improve energy efficiency.
• Recognition will be given to organisations which use onsite renewable energy like wind turbines or solar panels by publishing the increased carbon savings from such measures.
• Organisations will be given greater flexibility in how they participate. Subsidiaries who are large enough to qualify in own right (at least 6000MWh) may opt to do so separately from their organisational group.
• Given the primary focus of the scheme is energy efficiency, the CRC will now be known as CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme.

The Government has also affirmed that Central Government Departments must show leadership in this area. Consequently, as part of the package of £405 million low carbon funding announced in the Budget, £20 million will now be invested in innovative energy efficiency measures to cut emissions and energy bills in Government buildings.

The funds will develop energy efficiency measures to include utilisation of smart meters, low carbon cars and renewable energy on public land, which will then be replicated across the public sector.

The Environment Agency is the administrator for certain aspects of the Scheme and the regulator for England and Wales and will publish the qualification and registration guidance for potential CRCEE Scheme participants in November (watch this site). The other regulators are the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

The Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme: Defining the Way Forward Conference and Exhibition will explain the priorities ahead and address those key areas set to challenge large-scale organisations across the UK, providing practical solutions and answers for those keen to be at the forefront of delivery on the ground.