Climate Change Legislation Impact on FHE Stephen Boyle

Climate Change Legislation Impact on FHE Stephen Boyle Senior Policy Officer 19 th January 2007

Content • • • SEPA Climate Change International and Domestic goals Climate Change legislation in the UK Climate Change legislation which impacts on FHE • Concluding Remarks

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Who we are • Non-departmental public body set up by Environment Act 1995 • Budget of £ 68 m (06/07) • 54% from Scottish Executive Grant in Aid • 46% from charging schemes • 22 offices • 1270 staff

What we do Our responsibilities are to regulate: • Activities that may pollute water; • Activities that may pollute air; • Storage, transport and disposal of waste; and • Keeping and disposal of radioactive waste

How we do it! We protect and improve the environment through: • Regulation • Raising environmental awareness • Environmental economics • The planning system • Advising Government and Scottish Executive on environmental issues

Climate Change

Concentration of Carbon Dioxide and Methane Have Risen Greatly Since Pre-Industrial Times Carbon dioxide: 33% rise BW 5 The Met. Office. Hadley Center for Climate Prediction and Research. Methane: 100% rise

Arctic ice cover • There is evidence that both Arctic and Antarctic ice cover is reducing • Thomas et al, 2006 state that the near coastal thinning rates (Greenland) have increased substantially since the 1990’s

“Antarctica sends 500 billion tonne warning of the effects of The Independent global warming” Courtesy of Michael Bentley

Larsen B ice shelf through time (19472002)

Climate change in Scotland (SNIFFER report, 2006) • Annual average 24 -hour maximum temperature over 90 year period, in 3 regions of Scotland • Very varied, non monotonic

Average Temperature

Snow cover Source A Handbook of Climate Trends across Scotland SNIFFER 2006

Wetter winters

Extreme events – floods Photo: SEPA

Species ranges moving uphill & north Mountain Ringlet has moved uphill In 2004, 50% fewer km squares than in the 1970 s Scotch Argus has moved north In 2004, 17% fewer km squares than in the 1970 s By Aldina M. A. Franco, Jane K. Hill, Yvonne C. Collingham, Richard Fox, Brian Huntley, David B. Roy and Chris D. Thomas Universities of York and Durham CEH Monks Wood, Butterfly Conservation Funded by NERC Scotch Argus

Earlier Flowering 1978 -2001 3 weeks early Snowdrop Wild Daffodil Winter aconite 2 weeks early Bluebell Dog violet 1 week early Lesser celandine Courtesy: Prof. Fred Last, Longniddry Broom Wild cherry

Longer growing seasons Fife lawn cut for an extra 29 days in 2003 than in 1984 Woodland Trust Picture Library Courtesy: Dr. Tim Sparks, CEH

International and Domestic Goals

International and Domestic Goals • Kyoto Agreement; to reduce CO 2 emissions below 1990 levels by 12. 5% in the period 2008 -2012 • UK Domestic goal; 20% reduction in CO 2 emissions below 1990 levels by 2010 • Energy White Paper Feb 2003; 60% reduction by 2050

Climate Change Legislation in the UK

Current Climate Change Legislation • The Climate Change Levy (CCL) • Climate Change Agreements (CCA) • Building Regulations • UK Emissions Trading Scheme • EU Emissions Trading Scheme • Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) In addition • Voluntary Agreements • Enhanced information provision and advise to business

Proposed Legislation and Measures • • Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) Expansion to the EU ETS Energy Performance Commitment (EPC) Voluntary benchmarking and reporting

Climate Change Legislation which impacts on FHE

EU Emissions Trading Scheme • The EU Emissions Trading Directive (the Directive) establishes a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community. • It aims to promote reductions of greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective and economically efficient manner. • The Directive was transposed into UK law through the UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2003. • The Scheme commenced on 1 January 2005.

EU ETS requirements • A qualifying installation must apply for a permit and submit a Monitoring and Reporting (M&R) plan to their relevant authority for approval • They will be issued allowances for the each Phase period from the National Allocation Plan (NAP) based on their historic emissions • At the end of each year the site will calculate their annual carbon dioxide emissions in line with their M&R plan and have this verified by an independent UKAS accredited verifier • The installation will then surrender sufficient allowances to cover their annual emission or open themselves up for civil penalties and enforcement action

Source Scottish Energy Study Scottish Executive 2006

EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive Aim • To Improve the Energy performance of buildings through cost effective measures • Harmonisation of building standards across the community in line with the most ambitious state targets Measures • Methodology for Calculating the energy performance of buildings • Application of building standards on new and existing buildings • Certification schemes for all new buildings • Regular inspection and assessment of boiler/heating and cooling installations

Energy Performance Commitment Aim • Energy Review (2006) commitment to reduce carbon emissions from large non-energy intensive organisations by 1. 2 million tonnes of carbon per year by 2020

Energy Performance Commitment How • Organisations who use more than 3000 MWh’s of electricity from half hourly logging electricity meters will be covered in the scheme • Participating organisations will be required to purchase, in an auction, sufficient allowances to cover their carbon emissions

Energy Performance Commitment At the end of each scheme year the organisation will be required to report its total energy use and surrender allowances to cover their carbon emissions • Failure to do so will result in civil penalties • Auctioning revenue will be redistributed to participating organisations annually in line with their past year performance

Concluding Remarks

Thank You stephen. boyle@sepa. org. uk 01786 455966

Climate change “Climate change presents very serious global risks, and it commands an urgent global response…it is the greatest and widest-ranging market failure ever seen” (Stern Review 2006) “Climate change is a far greater threat to the world than global terrorism” (Sir David King, Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor) “… the impacts of global warming are such that I have no hesitation in describing it as a ‘weapon of mass destruction’” (Sir John Houghton, former chief executive of the UK Meteorological Office)