On 27 March 2012, a consultation was launched by the Department of Energy and Climate Change to gain industry views on the government’s proposals to simplify the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (the “CRC Scheme”).

The CRC Scheme was introduced in April 2010 and aims to reduce emissions from large organisations by requiring qualifying organisations to purchase “allowances” to cover the equivalent amount of carbon produced by them annually (see our Changes affecting the property industry in 2012 article for further details).   

The idea behind the proposals to amend the CRC Scheme is to streamline it by reducing the administrative burden placed on participating organisations and allow more flexibility.  There are 46 proposals in total, including ending the requirement for “footprint reports” and reducing the overlap with other schemes such as the Climate Change Agreement.

The consultation closes on 18 June 2012. Should you wish to read further detail or respond to these proposals, click here to be directed to the consultation document. 

Despite this consultation, however, it was also announced in the budget this April that if significant administrative savings could not be achieved by amendments to the CRC Scheme, proposals would be put forward in Autumn 2012 for it to be replaced with an environmental tax. It does seem therefore, that unless drastic improvements are brought about by the consultation, the CRC Scheme may be nearing the end of its existence.

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