The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) was an overcomplicated piece of legislation from the outset and had environmental consultants rubbing their hands at the thought of the fees they could charge explaining it and coming up with strategies for their clients. The spending review has now simplified it somewhat turning it into a simple carbon tax.
Now it’s straight forward, large uses of energy will have to pay a tax on each tonne of CO2 their energy usage equates to, the complication of recycling the payments to those who reduce their emissions compared to their peers is gone. Hopefully this means the scheme will be less expensive and easier to administer.
This with the predicted base price of energy rising by 60% in the coming years puts a greater financial pressure on big business to reduce their energy usage and to seriously look at how they can start to generate their own energy via renewables. The next 10 years are going to see a change in how renewable energy is looked at not just as a corporate social responsibility exercise but as something which will affect a companies profitability.
We are being approached by businesses and commercial developers who realise that things are changing and it’s really going to happen (and it’s not just political waffle) they are installing renewable technology so they understand what it can deliver and will be one step ahead of the game when it’s no longer an option but a must have.
