date: Tue Mar 20 13:03:18 2001 from: Mike Hulme subject: Fwd: DETR: Deputy Prime Minister launches Carbon Trust to: t.d.davies X-Sender: f047@pop.uea.ac.uk X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 4.3.2 Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 12:59:16 +0000 To: Mike Hulme From: John Turnpenny Subject: Fwd: DETR: Deputy Prime Minister launches Carbon Trust Another DETR press release..... X-URL: [1]http://www.open.gov.uk/ X-Sender: ai47@gtnet.gov.uk X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 4.3.2 Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 10:44:58 +0000 To: detr_all@open.gov.uk From: "Press Office (DETR)" Subject: DETR: Deputy Prime Minister launches Carbon Trust Sender: owner-detr_all@open.gov.uk Reply-To: postmaster@open.gov.uk X-Info: To unsubscribe, send the message "unsubscribe detr_all" to majordomo@open.gov.uk DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE The sending address for this email is an automated account. This message is for notification purposes only and should not be replied to. If you have any queries regarding this message please contact the DETR's Public Enquiry Unit on 020 7944 3000. 150 20 March 2001 DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER LAUNCHES CARBON TRUST Stronger links between business and the environment were forged today with the launch of the Carbon Trust by the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott and Trust Chairman, Ian McAllister. Business has a key role to play in tackling climate change, Mr Prescott said. Without business commitment to developing low carbon technologies, long term reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will not be achieved. The Carbon Trust will help business play its part. The Carbon Trust is a key part of the UK climate change programme. It will promote research and development, and make available up to £200m over the next 2 years to help businesses invest in low carbon technologies. It will be funded by the proceeds of the climate change levy. Launching the Trust, Mr Prescott, said: "The Carbon Trust will help business save energy and support new low carbon technologies. It will also bring together business, Government, researchers, consumers and non-Government organisations (NGOs) to develop a new strategic vision of a low carbon future. "Climate change is the most serious environmental threat that the world is facing. It affects us all. We helped negotiate the historic agreement at Kyoto putting in place legally binding targets to cut UK greenhouse gas emissions. "Our climate change programme contains measures that could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 23 per cent by 2010. The climate change levy and the energy efficiency agreements with industry are estimated to cut emissions by 5 million tonnes. That is a fifth of the total cuts we expect to achieve over the next 10 years. "The Carbon Trust will make a significant contribution to achieving the UK's CO2 savings, but it must also help us address longer term challenges. Moving to a low carbon economy is essential to protect the environment. It is also essential to our future competitiveness. There are major gains in store for the UK if we can shape the emerging low carbon technology market." Ian McAllister said: "The Carbon Trust is a unique opportunity for the UK, and I hope it will be an example of how Government, business, NGOs, researchers and others can work together to tackle climate change. We need to be truly visionary if we are to make it work. "The Trust will take us down the road to a low carbon economy. It will develop new low carbon technologies and get them onto the market. It will train people to develop the technologies and to use them effectively. "We will be building on the UK's strengths in innovation and technology. We will be developing new ways of thinking and develop new ways of doing business. And we will exploit the UK's lead in the world's financial markets to find new ways of financing investment in low carbon technologies. "Now is the time for UK business to show its commitment and to capitalise on the benefits a low carbon economy can bring." Turning to another area where Government is taking measures to tackle climate change, John Prescott added: "Our 10 Year Plan for Transport will reduce congestion on the roads and cut CO2 emissions by 1.6 million tonnes, in addition to the 4 million tonnes expected to be saved by the voluntary agreement with car manufacturers. Already we are seeing traffic now growing at a much slower rate than the economy. Provisional figures for 2000 show traffic grew by only 0.3%, or 0.7% after allowing for the effect of the September fuel shortages, while GDP grew by more than 3%." NOTES TO EDITORS: 1. The Carbon Trust was originally proposed the Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment (ACBE), which has taken the lead with DETR, DTI, the Devolved Administrations and the research community to develop the idea. The concept of the Trust was developed by the ACBE Climate Change Working Group under the leadership of Ian Stephenson of Johnson Matthey, the Trust's Deputy Chairman. 2. The Carbon Trust will accelerate the take-up of low carbon technologies and practices by business, including process and manufacturing industry, commerce and business transport. The Trust will also cover the public sector. The overall aim of the Trust will be to work with business, public bodies, Government and the research community to help the UK move towards a sustainable, lower-carbon economy. The Trust will start work in April 2001. 3. Over the next three years the Carbon Trust will plough around £100m of Climate Change Levy receipts back in to research, development and integrated business support programmes. The Trust will operate UK-wide in partnership with the Devolved Administrations, who will be contributing up to £6 million per annum. 4. In addition, there will be £17 million from the existing DETR Energy Efficiency Best Practice Programme and a new Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme which will come into effect from 1 April with £70 million of funding in the first year. It is designed to support business investment in energy efficient technology. The scheme is expected to include 1200 energy efficient technologies. 5. In the short term the Carbon Trust will concentrate on helping business save energy and money cost of the climate change levy. In the long term it will develop the UK's capacity to meet the problems of climate change, consider not only commercial and technological factors but wider socio-economic factors which hinder our move towards a low carbon economy. 6. The Carbon Trust is part of the climate change levy package of measures which awaits European state aids approval. Press Enquiries: 020 7944 3041; out of hours: 020 7944 5925 / 5945; E-mail: press@detr.gov.uk Public Enquiries: 020 7944 3000 DETR website - [2]http://www.detr.gov.uk