Recently, in an open letter from the Aldersgate Group to Joan Ruddock, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, a coalition of 55 leading UK business and third sector organisations claim that the current regulatory framework on carbon reporting is creating disincentives for investments in renewable energy projects.
Signatories include BT, BSkyB, Eurostar, Ikea, Aviva, News International, Microsoft, Motorola, Cable & Wireless and Sun Microsystems.
The barriers arise from inconsistencies arising from Defra’s Best Practice Voluntary Reporting Guidelines (June 2008) and the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), as well as other incentives administered by DECC. This is because the Government insists that end-users must assume that all electricity generated on-site contains the average carbon intensity for the national grid. For its true carbon content to be reflected in company carbon reporting, the company must forgo the only relevant subsidy – Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) – which in turn makes the vast majority of renewable energy investments financially unviable.
If any other UK organisations want to add their voice let me know…..
