05 December 2008
By Paul Dicken
Schools that fail to drastically reduce their carbon emissions could cause councils to lose out under the mandatory carbon trading scheme, a think-tank has warned.
The Carbon Reduction Commitment, which is to be introduced in 2010, is a 'cap-and-trade' scheme that will require private and public sector organisations to monitor and trade the CO2 emanating from their buildings. It will take the form of financial credits.
On November 28, the Local Government Information Unit said councils were concerned that cutting emissions would not be a priority for schools, which are responsible for around two-thirds of local authorities' total emissions.
Gemma Roberts, policy analyst at the LGIU's centre for local sustainability, said it was essential to get schools to work with councils 'so that accurate data on carbon emissions are provided to help them to effectively trade on the scheme'.
The LGIU said the right monitoring systems were needed to allow accurate measurement of emissions. Plans to extend the use of smart meters, outlined in the Energy Bill, were insufficient.
Smart meters, which provide more comprehensive information on gas and electricity use, will not be a mandatory requirement for all councils, the LGIU added.
Liverpool City Council started to introduce the meters to all sites, including schools, in 2004. Energy manager Brendan Purcell said: 'This is about total budget control and finance, not just carbon emissions. Data preparation on all fronts is key to success and all councils need to ensure 100% data correction to get accurate trading. Carbon trading could fail if there's no accurate data.'
In a report published on December 1, the government's committee on climate change said that the Carbon Reduction Commitment would need to have 'ambitious emissions reduction targets'. It included carbon budgets for UK reductions, covering the years 2008–2012, 2013–2017 and 2018–2022.
The report, Building a low carbon economy, said that the CRC would be a 'direct financial lever' to change behaviour and could play a role in attracting 'sustained management attention'.
The committee, an independent advisory body to government, was established under the Climate Change Act, which received royal assent on November 26.
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