Carbon and Government

Cooperative international action by governments to tackle climate change is occurring in many different formats, such as multilateral agreements (the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and regional partnerships (the Asia Pacific Partnership).  However the Stern Review (2006) calls for stronger, more coordinated action to stabilise concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere¹.

In the absence of an international agreement on tackling climate change, individual governments are developing their own regulatory schemes, creating an assortment of new guidelines for multinational corporations to manage.  Many business leaders are pushing for a clear, long-term international framework to provide the right environment for investment.

In the UK, the Government see business as the key delivery mechanism of their environmental programme and have demonstrated that the economy can still grow whilst reducing emissions with the economy growing by approximately 54% while greenhouse gas emissions fell by over 15% in 2005².

The UK is set to over achieve on its Kyoto target of 12.5% greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions by 2010.  In fact, the UK has set their own domestic target of 20% reduction in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by 2010.  The new Climate Change Bill will set a statutory reduction of 60% in CO₂ emissions by 2050.

In addition, there are a number of UK government policies related to carbon and energy efficiency, generally directed at larger organisations, including the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, Climate Change Levy and Climate Change Agreements, the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and the upcoming Carbon Reduction Commitment – a new domestic emissions trading scheme targeting up to 5,000 large organisations.

With government, supply chain and investor/consumer pressure mounting, it is increasingly important that UK businesses are proactive and implement climate change initiatives.  Businesses can do this by analysing and understanding their carbon footprint, reducing GHG emissions and offsetting CO₂ output.  All these actions reduce company costs and improve the bottom line.  

By not doing so, businesses risk increased overheads for environmental taxes and legislative compliance costs, increased energy prices and investor/consumer pressure, as stakeholders choose to invest and buy from environmentally conscious companies.

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