Carbon Budgets viewed as boon to UK waste sector

The recent announcement on Carbon Budgets is good news. The government has signalled its continuing commitment to the environment by agreeing to the latest Carbon Budgets proposed by the Committee on Climate Change.

The introduction of the Climate Change Act and the associated Carbon Budgets was a much more significant change than was realised at the time.

The budgets provide an ongoing absolute economy-wide limit on emissions enshrined in law which in theory takes precedence over all other considerations.

Of course in reality that does not mean politicians cannot try to water them down if they are determined to do so. But it does mean a high reputational price would have to be paid, as we have seen from recent events.

The media has been quick to highlight some recent political skirmishes about the latest Carbon Budgets, much of which stems from the fact that the Climate Change Act was originally enacted during a time of strong economic growth.

The subsequent downturn has focused minds on returning to growth as rapidly and effectively as possible. The Carbon Budgets now proposed help to ensure that short-run return to growth will not come at the expense of longer-term environmental damage.

The waste management sector itself has been successful in reducing emissions. As the Committee on Climate Change has previously noted, the sectors emissions fell by 58% from 1990 to 2006. Since then, the industry has been doing even more to reduce the greenhouse gas impacts from waste.

However, the interaction between waste management and climate policy is complex. Increased recycling can lead to higher direct emissions from the waste management sector. This occurs in the form of transport emissions from increased vehicle movements as well as higher energy consumption at material recovery facilities.

But on the other hand, the use of recycled materials in products, both domestically and abroad, offsets the requirement for energy intensive production from virgin materials. In the modern global economy, a lot of physical production occurs overseas and this means that some of the carbon saving benefit from recycling is exported from the UK.

Global

So while the UKs Carbon Budgets focus on direct emissions within the UKs national boundaries, it is vital that the waste sectors contribution includes recognition of the global perspective of the strong greenhouse gas savings produced from recycling.

As well as publishing the latest Carbon Budgets, the government has also opened a consultation on mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions for businesses.

The ESA is a strong supporter of mandatory reporting for metered emissions but believes that under circumstances where emissions are estimated from models, as is the case for landfill gas, reporting should remain voluntary.

The ESA is committed to continuing to report its operational members greenhouse gas emissions. The industry has already played an important role in reducing the UKs greenhouse gas emissions and will continue to do so going forward.

And we must remember that climate change is not the only environmental threat we face. Modern waste management is fundamental to improving the overall quality of the UKs environment, and always will be.