CHPA response to Environmental Audit Committee Budget 2013 Inquiry

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Better supporting industry’s role in the green economy:

The CHPA believes that the Government would benefit from a widening of its efforts to reduce emissions and develop a sustainable green economy.

UK Industry has made important strides in reducing carbon emissions and energy use, but the sector is often viewed as an emissions ‘problem’ rather than a potential partner in the decarbonisation agenda.

This perception limits the growth opportunities from the UK’s environmental commitments as the UK industrial sector is on the front line of the green economy, producing key products such as chemicals used in highly efficient double glazing. When produced by British industry, these produces often have lower emissions than their imported counterparts and there is substantial further scope for additional emissions abatement.

The CHPA has identified two key options for enabling the participation of industry in decarbonising the emissions where the Treasury would play a key role:

• Facilitating a new form of support for replace that removed for CHP plants in the 2011 budget. This would enable industrial organisations to invest in energy efficiency, reducing UK emissions and improving security of energy supply.
• Enabling large scale renewable and Energy from waste projects to ‘bank’ support under the renewable heat incentive for projects that will commission after 2015 where but where the investment decision is taken before the end of this parliament. Such a policy has the potential to unleash significant new investment with no additional spend in this parliament and an overall reduction in cost to the public purse in meeting our renewables targets.