25 April 2008
A simulated market for carbon trading between local authorities will open for business at the end of the month, as a pathfinder for what will be a legal requirement in two years' time.
The Local Government Information Unit launched the Carbon Trading Councils scheme on April 22. It presented a list of 26 town halls ready to create the conditions of a market for buying and selling carbon credits.
Andy Johnston, head of the LGIU's centre for local sustainability, said the national targets for cutting carbon emissions by 2050 indicated what a 'massive step-change' was required by organisations.
He said the mandatory 'cap and trade' scheme for the private and public sector under the Carbon Reduction Commitment, set out in the Climate Change Bill, had encouraged councils to get involved.
Not all of the 26 councils signed up to begin trading will fall under the CRC in 2010. It applies to organisations that emit more than 6,000-megawatt hours of electricity a year and is likely to cover upper-tier local authorities and metropolitan boroughs.
LGIU policy analyst Gemma Roberts said once participating authorities had submitted data for their baseline energy use, a cap or carbon budget would be set. This would encourage town halls to reduce energy use and pollution.
Roberts said: 'That's the difficult bit. That will affect supply and demand and will provide pressure for local authorities to start thinking about carbon reduction measures.'
The LGIU will act as the 'honest broker' in the scheme, and will carry out audits to check energy use.
The head of sustainability and environmental policy at Brighton and Hove Council, Thurstan Crockett, said his council was keen to lead by example and had been prompted to act swiftly by the rise in utility bills.
He said: 'The biggest weakness is really a legacy of not being on top of our game on energy management. We want to move to a position where we are.'
He said early targets for carbon reduction had been met through changes in staff behaviour.
PFapr2008
