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Auction of EU:ETS permits restarts The UK government has started auctioning carbon permit allowances again under the European emission trading scheme (EU:ETS) – fourteen months after the last such sale was cancelled owing to uncertainties over Brexit. On March 4 just over 5.7m allowances were made available. And an official timetable has been published, which is operating on a fortnightly basis until December 9. Over this period a total of well over 110m permits are officially set to be auctioned off. This is in complete contrast to the UK response to potential involvement with the EU:ETS during 2019, when no auctions were organised, and legislation was passed permitting the government to replace the trading system with a new carbon tax post-Brexit (see EiBI April 2019). Last spring the Committee on Climate Change was charged with making recommendations for other options to replace the EU:ETS (see EiBI June 2019). Although it reported to Government last July, neither the report nor any formal Government response to it has yet been published. Compliance with the EU:ETS has formed a key role in the initial salvoes from the European Union concerning the creation of an operational trading relationship with a post-Brexit UK. The bloc is demanding that a system of carbon pricing is implemented that is “at least as effective as the EU:ETS”, as part of requirements to maintain all existing European-wide environmental standards. Indeed French president Emmanuel Macron is pushing for a closer alignment, to ensure that the UK stays in alignment with Brussels, as the EU it introduces its own ambitious green deal. • The UK government has just issued a record £5.6m in fines to be levied upon UK companies that have violated EU:ETS requirements. This is the largest batch of non-compliance fines to date. Among those said to be in breach include the low cost airline EasyJet and the luxury department store Harrods.
LOW LEVEL OF MONITORING AMONG LOCAL AUTHORITIES
Councils in dark over energy use Many councils in England have no idea how much energy they use, a new survey reveals. The findings make it “inconceivable” that they will become carbon neutral within 30 years, as the government has mandated. According to the survey, 43 per cent of councils – 93 of the 214 local authorities that responded to a freedom of information request from electrical contractors’ trade body ECA – do not measure the energy they use in council-owned buildings, or know how much carbon they produce. This is even though 265 (65 per cent) of councils have declared a climate emergency. And for the past quarter century, every housing authority has been required under the Home Energy Conservation Act to maintain an up-to-date plan on the relative energy efficiency of
homes in their area. ECA energy adviser Luke Osborne said the findings were “highly concerning”. Without immediate changes, “it is inconceivable that councils are going to become carbon neutral in less than 30 years”, he said. Despite 78 per cent of councils in the survey saying they are planning towards net zero operation by 2050, 47 per cent say they do not have
a strategy in place to reduce the carbon emissions from housing, offices and other buildings. Of the 49 councils in the survey that stated they would be carbon neutral by 2030, 11 do not know their current carbon footprint. Council buildings pump out large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). On average, a council HQ building emits 1,234 tonnes of CO2 a year, according to ECA. Overall, English council headquarters emit more than 250,000 tonnes of CO2 a year – the equivalent of 150,000 return flights from London to New York. Many councils have older, energyinefficient buildings, said Osborne, but there are simple measures that could be implemented quickly, such as switching to LED lighting and monitoring occupancy levels. “There is a lot of rhetoric out there, but very few action plans,” he said.
Energy services to help Yorkshire NHS trust Resource management company Veolia, working through its specialist energy performance contracting team, is now helping the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust save money and cut carbon emissions using wide-ranging energy efficiency services. By delivering a 20-year energy performance contract (EPC) that will target savings of over £1m per year the company will implement a wide range of improvements at the 500-bed Rotherham Hospital. Backed by the necessary investment and payback through the Carbon and Energy Fund Procurement framework, the EPC will now upgrade energy provision, reduce CO2 emissions by 49,620 tonnes and build long term energy resilience. Maintaining a modern patient care environment for the Trust, which treats over 430,000 patients each year, means that a secure and cost efficient energy supply is essential. To meet this energy demand and dramatically reduce the carbon footprint, the projects will cover the design, delivery, installation, commissioning and subsequent operation of combined heat and power plant, replacement of seven 40-year-old boilers, and installation of a chiller plant to provide effective air conditioning. As good lighting levels have a positive effect on patient treatment and outcomes in the contract will upgrade the lighting to take advantage of the latest low energy and LED technology through the installation of 7,000 new fittings. Further energysaving measures will include insulation on pipes and valves, and a battery energy storage system. These energy saving measures will be guaranteed by Veolia who will also provide a comprehensive 20-year maintenance service.
06 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | MARCH 2020
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