To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what reduction in UK carbon emissions is predicted to result from (a) phase 1 and (b) phase 2 of the EU emissions trading scheme, expressed (i) in tonnes and (ii) as a percentage of the total at the start of the scheme; (131411)

[holding answer 16 April 2007]: The approved UK national allocation plan (NAP) for phase I (2005-07) of the EU emissions trading scheme is set to deliver carbon dioxide emissions savings of around 65 million tonnes (roughly 8 per cent.) below the projected business as usual emissions of the installations covered by the scheme during phase I. The rationale behind emission trading is to ensure that the emission reductions take place where the cost of the reduction is lowest thus lowering the overall costs of tackling climate change. The emissions reductions referred to above may not therefore all take place in the UK.

Comparing 2003 and 2005 emissions in the UK from installations in the EU ETS shows a reduction of around 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO₂) which equates to 4 per cent. However, a number of new installations commenced operation and entered the scheme in 2004 and 2005, emitting a total of around five MtCO₂ in 2005. Therefore, the net total reduction in emissions from UK installations (incumbent and new) in the EU ETS was approximately five MtCO₂ between 2003 and 2005.

The UK NAP for phase II (2008-12) is set to deliver an annual reduction of 29.3 million tonnes of CO₂ against projected business as usual emissions for 2010. The allocation level has been set at 13 per cent. below emissions from these installations in 2005.