§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what impact the climate change levy will have on the profitability and competitiveness of the wood particleboard and wood fibreboard industry. [107939]
§ Ms HewittThe Government's goal remains to design and implement the levy in a way which safeguards competitiveness while maximising its environmental 767W benefits. The wood particleboard and fibreboard industry, together with other sectors, will benefit from the proposals announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his 9 November 1999 Pre-Budget Report, including: the lower overall rates of the levy; the exemptions for electricity generated from new forms of renewable energy and good quality combined heat and power plants; and the trebling of support for energy efficiency measures under the levy package.
In addition, those wood particleboard and fibreboard industry sites that are covered by the Integrated Pollution Prevention Control Directive, as defined by reference to Part A of the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulation, will be eligible for an 80 per cent. discount from the levy if they sign up to a negotiated agreement to improve energy efficiency or deliver emissions reductions that meet the Government's criteria.