The UK and climate change

Climate change policy in the UK

Climate Change issues are addressed by a number of Government departments as outlined below. If you would like to know more about how any of these Government departments may be able to help you with a climate change project, please contact the CCPO in the first instance.

The UK Government published the Energy White Paper in February 2003. This takes a cross-departmental approach to energy policy and emphasises the importance of climate change considerations in overall energy policy. The development of action plans to deliver the targets it contains and monitoring of performance are being co-ordinated by the Sustainable Energy Policy Network in DTI. For more information, see www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/index.shtml.

Government policy on climate change is developed by Defra in conjunction with other Government departments including the DTI, the Treasury and the Department for Transport (DfT). The CCPO takes part in this dialogue and has a particular responsibility to reflect the concerns and interests of business to policy makers.

UK emission targets

The UK Government takes its role in the field of climate change very seriously, and to this end its has instituted a Climate Change Programme to deliver the UK's Kyoto Protocol target. Responsibility for this rests with the National Climate Change Policy Division (NCCP) within Defra. (www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/index.htm).

The target is a 12.5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels, by 2008 to 2012. The NCCP monitors the UK's progress towards the target and produces the national inventory of emissions which is submitted to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC). Defra is also the lead department for international climate change negotiations. It launched the UK emissions trading scheme in April 2002, and it has developed the UK’s National Allocation Plan (NAP) in readiness for the introduction of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (the EU ETS) in 2005.

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Support to UK business

UK Trade & Investment (a joint DTI and Foreign & Commonwealth Office body) supports the environmental goods and services sector in export markets via the work of the Environmental Industries Sector Unit (ESIU) www.trade.uktradeinvest.gov.uk/environment.

The DTI also operates a programme to support the renewable energy sector under the title of “Renewables UK”. See www.dti.gov.uk/renewable for more information.

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The Treasury and DfT

The Treasury administers the Climate Change Levy and the Enhanced Capital Allowances Programme (www.hm-treasury.gov.uk). Some of the funds from the Climate Change Levy are returned to the non-domestic sector to promote energy efficiency and low carbon innovation via the programmes operated by the Carbon Trust, which is a private body with public funding. More details about the Low Carbon Innovation Programme and the energy efficiency programme - Action Energy - can be obtained directly from the Carbon Trust (www.thecarbontrust.co.uk).

Transport issues and their role in the climate change debate are the responsibility of the Department for Transport (DfT). See www.dft.gov.uk for more information.

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