§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what energy assumptions have influenced her Department's policy on the appropriate carbon dioxide reduction target relative to 1990 levels within the National Allocation Plan to implement the EU Emissions Trading Directive. [167755]
§ Mr. TimmsThe draft National Allocation Plan (NAP) indicated that the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) would be responsible for delivering the remaining savings of 1.5 million tonnes of Carbon (MtC) (equivalent to 5.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide) from 1990 levels by 2010 envisaged under the UK Climate Change Programme from emissions trading for which there are no policies currently in place. With the exception of the power generation sector, allowances to installations have been allocated on the basis of their projected emissions for the first phase of the scheme, which runs from 2005–07. These projections take account of updated estimates of the impacts and policy measures set out in the Climate Change Programme which have already been implemented or for which there are firm plans. Allowances to the power generation sector have been allocated on the basis that this sector will be responsible for the emissions trading savings of 1.5 MtC to be delivered by the EU ETS. This reflects the fact that the power generation sector faces limited international competition and has relatively good low-cost abatement opportunities.
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§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the carbon dioxide emissions reduction targets in(a) the draft National Allocation Plan and (b) the climate change programme. [167762]
§ Mr. TimmsThe UK Climate Change Programme envisaged that emissions trading would deliver carbon dioxide (CO2) reductions of 2 million tonnes of Carbon (MtC) (equivalent to 7.3 million tonnes of CO2) by 2010. As the UK Emissions Trading Scheme is expected to lead to CO2 reductions of about 0.5 MtC (1.8 MtCO2), the draft National Allocation Plan (NAP) indicated that the Government had decided that the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) would be used to achieve the remaining savings of 1.5 MtC (5.5 MtCO2) by 2010.
The draft NAP confirmed that the UK is firmly committed to its domestic goal set out in the 2000 Climate Change Programme of moving towards a 20 per cent. reduction in CO2 emissions below 1990 levels by 2010. Subject to a review of the effectiveness of the EU ETS as a vehicle for delivering cost effective emissions reductions, it is intended that the total quantity of allowances to be issued for the second phase of the Scheme running from 2008 to 2012 will be set to ensure that installations covered by the Scheme make an appropriate contribution to that goal. This will be taken into account in the review of the Climate Change Programme which will take place later this year.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to what extent the requirements of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive with regard to energy efficiency have been taken into account in future energy projections for the UK. [167763]
§ Mr. TimmsIn practice, the impact of this Directive is likely to vary according to the installation considered and there is a good deal of uncertainty about how the Directive will impact in overall terms. In general, the DTI energy model does not make projections for installations to this level of detail. In modelling the power station sector, a modest improvement in energy efficiency has been assumed to take place at existing coal fired power stations.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will reconcile her revised growth projections for the UK iron and steel industry with the increases set out in the draft National Allocation Plan. [167764]
§ Mr. TimmsFollowing publication for consultation of the draft National Allocation Plan for the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) in January, work to refine our energy and emissions projections has continued. We will be publishing a working paper on overall emissions projections in May and a final set of emissions projections for the iron and steel and other sectors covered by the EU ETS in June or soon after. These projections will be used in determining the revised sectoral allocations to be included in the National Allocation Plan.