Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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Government and Business working together to cut emissions: Woolas
Climate Change Agreements are continuing to cut carbon dioxide emissions in a wide range of energy-intensive sectors, Environment Minister Phil Woolas told Parliament today.
Climate Change Agreements are voluntary agreements with 51 energy-intensive sectors covering around 10,000 facilities. The operators of these facilities pay a reduced rate (20 per cent) of the Climate Change Levy in return for meeting challenging energy efficiency targets.
Mr Woolas said:
"Climate Change Agreements are working - securing a saving of 16.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide last year.
"We have seen continued improvement across all sectors in Climate Change Agreements, with nearly all facilities having their Climate Change Levy discounts renewed. Businesses have found more opportunities to improve energy efficient, and they should be congratulated on their commitment and innovation to meet and go beyond a challenging set of targets.
"However, there's no room for complacency. Although almost all sectors have improved their energy efficiency performance, and most have saved energy overall, it's going to be increasingly tough for many businesses to keep meeting their targets unless they find new and additional opportunities to save energy."
Overall, 32 out of the 49 sectors covered met their targets outright, and in a further 10 sectors all the facilities had their Climate Change Levy discounts renewed.
In total, 99 per cent of facilities (9830) were recertified through meeting their own targets or because their sector met its target. 461 facilities left the agreements or did not report, probably due to closure. Another 23 were decertified because they failed to meet their targets.
Defra also today published its annual report to Parliament on the
UK Climate Change Programme, which is available at
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/ukccp/index.htm.
Note to Editors
1. The Climate Change Agreements - Results of the Third Target
Period Assessment can be found at
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/business/ccl/results.htm
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