Mandatory carbon reporting could be brought in before 2012, says Miliband

Speaking at a reception at the House of Commons last night organised by the Aldersgate Group on ‘Capitalising on Copenhagen’ to look at the implications and opportunities for UK business, Ed Miliband said the Government was supporting business post-Cop15. He pointed to initiatives being implemented  to help create a level playing field for business, such as mandatory carbon reporting to be brought in by 2012, “if not earlier”, he said.

Last week, the Aldersgate Group, which represents a number of  businesses committed to environmental change, wrote an open letter to Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, calling for greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting to be made mandatory for all large UK organisations as soon as possible.

Speaking today, as the Government formally responded to the Committee on Climate Change's first annual report on carbon budgets, Miliband suggested that the Government would raise the UK's emission reduction target for 2020. He said Britain stood to gain from a green jobs revolution and from getting businesses and households to cut their energy use and promised that emission reductions achieved as a result of the recession would not be used to help meet future carbon budgets.

In a show of apparent solidarity with UK business, last night, Miliband told it not to "despair and keep campaigning”. He talked about “the nightmare” of the Copenhagen process and “disappointment” of the outcome. But he insisted that although the negotiations themselves were disappointing, the year of planning and lobbying was a success. “If a year ago we had said that China would have put up targets for emissions reductions, India, the US, and more – then people would have considered that a success.”

But now is the time for action and continued pressure, he said, not disillusionment. ”There will be significant bumps along the road but the shift will happen. And it’s very important that the UK make that shift.”

He described a need to broaden, strengthen and deepen the agreement. “Broaden the number of countries signed up to the communiqué which currently only stands at 50 out of the 192 countries. Deepen the commitments that countries are making by 31st of January this year. And strengthen the communiqué into a legally binding treaty,” he insisted. “For some developing countries the legally binding treaty was a bridge too far, but I think we can convince them that they have much to gain by having it.”

Robert Hokin, ceo of EcoConnect, a non-profit organisation which supports small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in clean technology initiatives, explained the frustration of SMEs with the lack of clarity from Government about what Copenhagen means with regard to potential investment. “Early stage companies are struggling in the UK right now. Are there any bits of gold out there you can promise us?” he asked.

Government is working on green investment banks and with the European Investment Bank on renewable energy, replied Miliband, “but be assured we seek to do more.”

Answering a question from Dr Jean Boulton of Sustain, in which she asked why the UK has performed so badly compared to its targets on acquiring energy from renewable sources, Miliband admitted that the UK had “lagged behind” and missed the boat with onshore wind, largely because “planning has been a real blight” and hoped to win the public arguments. But he pointed out the UK is now the world leader with offshore wind by being “the first mover.”

Paul Turner, head of Sustainable Development for Lloyds Banking Group, asked Miliband what he should tell colleagues at the Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change meeting today (January 14) about how to push the Copenhagen Communique forward – the agreement that came out of the Copenhagen Summit. Pushing forward the US debate was “very, very important”, said Miliband, as well as insisting that Europe’s 30 per cent emissions reduction commitment should not be contingent on US commitments, which he said is “right for carbon price as well as the environment.”

His main message to the corporate sector was a campaigning one however – asking for support from business to push the Government into action. “Tell the Government this thing’s going to go through and they better get on with it.”

Speaking after the Secretary of State, Peter Young, chairman of the Aldersgate Group was similarly forthright. “We are unswerving that this labyrinthine negotiation will not dissuade us,” he said. “We do risk losing some of the momentum after Copenhagen and we must all encourage the political process.” He also called for early mandatory reporting because of the fact that the UK is currently not meeting its own targets, and suggested that we need to “unlock more appetite in the corporate sector for renewables.”

“Actions speak louder than words and I’m not convinced there’s enough action in the UK,” he said. “I still think there is time to lock-in the UK to a low carbon path.”

Neil Carson, ceo of Johnson Matthey, put forward three assumptions which can help business move forward on the low carbon path. The first being that energy prices will definitely rise, so business must keep up the effort on resource and energy efficiency. “That’s the easy win,” he said. Second is that future customers will value low carbon products. “We are sure of that,” he said. “So we need to focus the next five years of research and development on producing these products, which we can then sell at higher margins.” Thirdly, he reaffirmed the confidence of Ed Miliband that a legally binding treaty was possible. “However bleak it looks now there will be a binding accord. So we better be prepared. If we are, companies and UK plc will get a competitive advantage.”

The answer to a low carbon economy, he said, lies in reducing the fascination with the nuclear versus renewables debate and having a broad-fronted programme that invests in lots of low carbon innovations. As money will be tight – both from Government and with consumers, who will be feeling the cost of increased electricity prices, “there will be better value for money in low carbon technologies than going blindly for renewables.”

Richard Brown, ceo of Eurostar spoke last, pointing out the useful role of business in encouraging consumers to make green choices. “My worry is that the portrayal of Copenhagen as a failure will have the effect of reducing demand from consumers. And if that happens we are pushing water uphill.” Although business had to be careful of “being evangelists” it could influence consumers by continuing with careful labelling and providing environmental guidance and information.

But the main message of the evening was a rallying cry for business to get behind governments and push for a legally binding agreement. “We still have a few years left of picking off the low hanging fruit in order to decrease our carbon footprint,” said Brown. “But in a few years time in order to invest in low carbon forms of electricity we will need a low carbon price. And at the moment it isn’t there. We desperately need a binding international agreement to get a proper price for carbon.”