It may have been criticised in some quarters for being overly complex and lax on energy-intensive firms, but the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) is set to deliver greater than anticipated cuts in carbon emissions and energy bills, according to a major new report released today by the Environment Agency.
The study predicted that the carbon trading scheme, which comes into effect from April next year and requires 5,000 of the UK's largest businesses and public sector bodies to report their carbon emissions, has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 11.6 million tonnes a year – more than double the 4.1 million tonnes of savings that were identified when the scheme was first announced in 2006.
It also calculates that the scheme will help to deliver more than £1bn worth of energy savings to the UK economy by 2020.
A spokeswoman for the Environment Agency said the research revealed that the scale of cost-effective energy savings that can be delivered at low cost, such as improved insulation and low-energy lighting systems, is greater than originally anticipated.
Speaking ahead of next week's Environment Agency annual conference, the watchdog's chairman Lord Chris Smith said the requirement for large firms to report on their energy use would encourage them to roll out energy-efficiency measures.
"From April 2010, when organisations need to start registering for the CRC, carbon reduction will become as much a part of corporate culture as health and safety," he said. "Carbon reduction needn't be complicated or expensive – for most organisations the cost of energy-saving measures will be more than offset by lower energy bills."
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