What has been updated?
The Climate Change Act 2008 (Credit Limit) Order sets a limit of 55 million carbon units that may be credited to meet the third carbon budget (2018-2022) for the UK under the Climate Change Act 2008.
The third carbon budget is set at 2,544 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e).
Each carbon unit represents one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Carbon units excluded from the level of the limit
The limit excludes any net use of credits from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).
This order comes into force on 21 July 2016.
Background
The Climate Change Act 2008 requires the government to meet a carbon reduction target of 80% greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Under section 4 of the Climate Change Act 2008, the government is obliged to set and meet carbon budgets every five years in order to meet that target.
The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has a duty to set a limit on the net amount of carbon units that can be credited to the net UK carbon account for each budgetary period.
Definitions
The net UK carbon account means the amount of net UK emissions of targeted greenhouse gases for a certain period that have been reduced by the amount of carbon units credited to the net UK carbon account or increased by the amount of carbon units that are to be debited from the net UK carbon account.
The Carbon Budget Order 2016 sets the carbon budget for the 2028–2032 budgetary period at 1,725 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e).
New publications this month:
ENVIRONMENT AGENCY AND THE DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS (DEFRA)
Pollution Prevention for Businesses
The Environment Agency and DEFRA have issued online guidance for organisations in England on pollution prevention and meeting environmental requirements. This guidance concerns topics such as:
Water Efficient Products: Enhanced Capital Allowances
The water efficient technologies product and criteria lists has been updated. These documents list the eligible water technologies and products under the Capital Allowances (Environmentally Beneficial Plant and Machinery) Order 2003.
Businesses installing items from the lists may claim up to 100% in enhanced first year capital allowances.
OIL AND GAS AUTHORITY (OGA)
UK's Oil and Gas Decommissioning Strategy
The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has published its strategy for decommissioning in the UK oil and gas sector.
United Utilities and contractors fined almost £1m for polluting brook with corrosive bleach
United Utilities Water Limited (UU) and its contractor (KMI+) were found guilty of polluting a brook near Bolton. A 1.7km stretch of the brook was badly polluted and virtually all aquatic organisms, including fish, shrimp and earthworms were killed.
While carrying out improvement works, the companies decided to dilute a barrel of 300 litres of sodium hypochlorite by putting a hosepipe into the tank. However, this tank was allowed overflow and this resulted in releases to the site drainage system.
The companies had not surveyed site drainage adequately. There were faults in the drainage system which meant that the diluted bleach entered the surface water drainage system and was released into a brook.
Breach
United Utilities were found guilty of breaching Regulations 12(1)(b) and 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010:
Penalty
United Utilities Water Ltd was fined £600,000 and KMI+ was fined £333,000. An order of prosecution costs was made to the EA in the sum of £19,090 for United Utilities and £26,172 for KMI+.
Waste operator jailed following conviction for £2.2 million electrical waste recycling fraud
A Leeds waste operator has been jailed after he was convicted of conspiracy to defraud, acting as a company director while disqualified and breaching an environmental permitting condition.
The court heard that Terence Tugbo had falsified paperwork to claim that his company, TLC Recycling Ltd, had collected and recycled more than 19,500 tonnes of household electrical waste during 2011. The company had not recycled this waste and had fraudulently claimed recycling fees from Producer Compliance Schemes.
The court also heard that company had illegally been treated CFC gas cylinders at its site. This was not authorised under the site’s permit.
Dugbo has previous convictions for fraud and illegally exporting banned hazardous waste to Nigeria.
Dugbo was sentenced to seven years and six months' imprisonment. He was also disqualified from acting as a company director for 12 years.
The Judge also initiated the Environment Agency’s request to commence confiscation proceedings for £2.2 million.
Severn Trent Water fined £426,000 following conviction for pollution
Severn Trent Water has been fined after repeated pollution incidents between May 2013 and April 2014 affected the Shire Brook on the border of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
Severn Trent Water had failed to inspect and maintain its sewers which had become blocked and backed up. Sewage leaked as a result. Releases resulted in the formation of thick sewage sludge and solids on a hillside, with grey water and sewage fungus in the brook. Pools of sewage also formed at ground level.
In mitigation, the court heard that Severn Trent had undertaken swift and effective clean-up operations.
Severn Trent Water Ltd was fined £426,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £38,642.60 to the EA as well as a victim surcharge of £120.
