Government pledges to slash green red tape

The government is calling on businesses to suggest improvements to its various carbon emission reduction regulations as part of a drive to cut the administrative burden imposed by new green legislation.

Defra last month proposed a package of new measures "to cut duplication and unduly complex bureaucracy" across its three main carbon reduction initiatives: the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), the Climate Change Agreements (CCA) and the proposed Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), which aims to extend emissions trading to include firms such as supermarkets and hotels.

In particular the new report details plans to remove overlap between the three emission reduction initiatives to ensure the same emissions are not targeted multiple times and streamline monitoring and reporting systems to limit paperwork for firms complying with the rules.

For example, the report notes that currently businesses are required to report on emissions separately for both the EU ETS and CCA, a situation it argues could be simplified through greater sharing of emissions data.

Defra is now seeking consultation from businesses and other interested parties on the proposed regulatory changes with the period scheduled to end on 19 March.

"This consultation shows once again that we're serious about tackling emissions in the UK and that doing so doesn't need to undermine competitiveness, " said environment minister Phil Woolas. "It's all about making sure that we get the biggest cuts in carbon dioxide possible for the money spent."

Matthew Farrow, head of environment at the CBI, welcomed the proposals. "We recognise the need for trading schemes and green regulations, but there is a sense amongst our members that the government has thrown different policies at the problem over the past few years and they don;t fit together that well," he said. "It is good news that the government has recognised this overlap and is trying to address it."

However, Farrow expressed concerns that the consultation did not incorporate the Climate Change Levy (CCL), which imposes a cost on firm's carbon emissions in addition to carbon trading initiatives. "I can understand why [the CCL] is not included [in the consultation] as it is run by the Treasury and not Defra," he said. "But there is a sense that you either have carbon trading or a carbon tax and now a lot of firms are being impacted by both intiatives."

Meanwhile, the government also set out proposals to bring the "shadow price for carbon" that it uses to represent the environmental cost of investment decisions into line with the recommendations of the Stern Review.

The shadow price will now be set at £25.50 a carbon tonne for 2007, rising annually to £59.60 a tonne by 2050.

Defra said the new policy should ensure Whitehall decision makers take greater account of climate change impacts when considering carbon intensive projects such as airport expansion or road widening schemes.

Environmental lobby group Friends of the Earth welcomed the initiative, but warned that a far higher carbon price needed to be imposed to ensure carbon intensive projects such as the proposed expansion of Heathrow do not become uneconomical.