Carbon Reduction Commitment - The Government Response

On 7th October the Government published its response to the most recent consultation relating to Carbon Reduction Commitment and the final details of the proposed Scheme.

Following the consultation process there have been some detailed changes made but most of the key points remain the same. The headline issues from the point of view of the property industry are:-

1. The Scheme has been renamed to the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme. This is simply to reflect the main objective of the Scheme which is to achieve a reduction in carbon emissions through increased energy efficiency.
2. The first compliance year of the Scheme (April 2010 to March 2011) will now be a reporting only year. Each participant required to comply with the Scheme will now only have to purchase allowances for the year commencing April 2011 and will not retrospectively have to buy allowances for the period April 2010 to March 2011.