The new CO2 emissions trading scheme – are you aware..?
Having been getting involved recently in Green IT I was amazed to discover how little awareness there is of the Government’s new Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) which is a mandatory emissions trading scheme being introduced from April 2010 under which companies will have to purchase ‘allowances’ from the Government to offset their CO2 emissions.
The more CO2 an organisation emits, the more ‘allowances’ it has to purchase. Making a direct incentive for organisations to reduce emissions by increasing energy efficiency. In addition, organisations will appear on a league table showing their comparative performance and will receive revenue back from the Government from the that raised by selling ‘allowances’ in proportion to their position on the table. If this league table is made public then I envisage many image concious high-street brands will be competing vigorously for position.
Government estimates indicate that around 20,000 public and private sector organisations will be required to participate in CRC in some way. Around 5,000 organisations will be required to record and monitor their CO2 emissions and purchase allowances equivalent to their emissions each year. The rest will be required to tell the administrator about their electricity usage.
Qualification for CRC is based on half hourly electricity consumption during the qualification period. For the introductory phase, this is the 2008 calendar year. An organisation qualifies as a full participant in CRC if, during the qualification period, it had at least one half hourly meter (HHM) settled on the half hourly market, and its annual electricity consumption through all HHMs was at least 6,000 MWh.
Looking forward to some potential changes and affects that may arise:
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New initiatives no longer being judged on ROI but having an added criteria of “Impact on CO2 footprint”
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A secondary trading market arising around the ‘allowances’
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As over 10% of a typical electrcity bill results from ICT - a raft of specific CO2 based ICT initiatives
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Smart(er) buildings – more insulation and recycling to reduce energy consumption
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Smart(er) working practices – switch-off policies, minimal printing
