Latest thinking by the energy and climate department (DECC) over climate change agreements (CCAs) smacks of blue-sky thinking. It has floated ideas not only to reform but even potentially to scrap the instruments. The government should be careful before reinventing this particular wheel.

Last December, DECC organised a closed workshop including representatives of sectors covered by CCAs to discuss their future. It released a report on the meeting last week.

There is general consensus that CCAs need reform. The voluntary agreements to cut emissions now signed with 52 industry sectors have various shortcomings. These include difficulties with monitoring and benchmarking of progress and an uneasy mixture of absolute and relative targets in different agreements. (more…)

We really are deep into the silly season. It’s actually turning out to be a desperately serious season around much of the globe, with terrifying and lethal weather events in Russia, China, Pakistan and West Africa which might or might not reflect man-made climate change.

But in the UK, the Daily Telegraph decided the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme is today’s ’splash’ – its most important front page story – under the headline Business facing a wave of green taxes.  BBC Radio 4’s Today programme also gave it a mention. (more…)

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