British Schools Join Carbon Emissions Trading Scheme
Posted on: Wednesday, 16 July 2008, 15:53 CDT
The environment minister announced on Wednesday that British state schools are to be included under the government's new domestic carbon emissions trading scheme from April 2010.
Hilary Benn said that energy use in schools will be measured and count toward the emissions permit quotas of local authorities, which in turn will be encouraged to advise schools on energy efficiency.
"Young people stand to gain most tomorrow from the action we take on climate change today. That's why schools should be included in the shift to a low carbon economy," Benn said in a statement.
Around 110 million pounds ($220.3 million) has been earmarked by Britain for installing renewable energy technology in more than 200 secondary schools undergoing refurbishment over the next three years.
Organizations can apply for UK government subsidies under a separate low carbon-building program covering up to half the installation cost of renewable energy sources like solar panels and wind turbines.
A mandatory, revenue-neutral scheme known as the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) to be launched in 2010, obliges around 5,000 energy-intensive commercial and public-sector organizations including supermarkets, universities, banks and hotel chains to buy permits if they emit above their share of climate-warming greenhouse gases.
Organizations that have cut their emissions can sell excess permits to those emitting above their limit.
The CRC is part of the governments new climate change bill and is estimated will help Britain cut carbon emissions by four million tons by 2020, the equivalent of taking one million cars off the road, Britain's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said in March.
The Climate Change Bill was originally intended to be on the statute books last month but is well behind schedule and unlikely to become law in the near future. The bill would set a legally binding target for cuts in national carbon emissions.
Last December, the government announced its long-term ambition for every new home and school built from 2016 to be zero-carbon.
Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
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