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Energy marketing firm comments on changes to Carbon Reduction Commitment
The Autumn Statement announced that, from April 2013, businesses can expect to see a ‘simplified’ version of the Carbon Reduction Commitment.
The Department for Climate Change (DECC) has now revealed that businesses will only have to report against two fuels (electricity and gas for heating) under the new CRC rules, as opposed to the current 29 fuels. It is estimated that this will save £272m in administration costs over the next 20 years.
The performance league table will also be abolished, but aggregated energy use and emissions data for organisations taking part will still be published. DECC says that the changes will lead to “reduced complexity, greater business certainty, and less overlap with other schemes.”
It was also announced, however, that the CRC may be scrapped entirely in 2016 and that the tax element will be removed “when public finances allow.” Content Communications, a technology marketing specialist, notes that the vague promise to remove the tax element at some stage does nothing but encourage greater uncertainty in the market.
Nicola Martin, the Bristol PR firm’s Senior Environmental Writer, comments: “The lower administrative burden of the revised CRC will certainly be welcomed by participants. However, in order to cut emissions in line with government targets, we need robust legislation that includes both carrot and stick. Despite these new changes, the CRC does not fit this criteria.”