Mandatory GHG Disclosure | 8th Sep 2011

At a recent roundtable, representatives from IEMA, WSP, Thomas Cook, Balfour Beatty, Defra, and Simmons & Simmons discuss the obligations of the Climate Change Act 2008 for the UK and its implications for GHG emissions reporting.

The Climate Change Act 2008 requires the introduction of regulations by 6 April 2012 obliging companies to report their greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions or for the government to explain why this has not happened.

Defra's consultation on GHG reporting, which closed on 5 July, contained four options to take this forward. Climate change minister, Greg Barker, recently conceded that there is "still a very live debate in government" over the issue, although he told the Aldersgate Group meeting in June that he was personally in favour of mandatory reporting because of the benefits for investors in understanding a company's carbon risk and for company directors who need to understand their exposure to the prices of carbon, oil and gas. "A common reporting practice is going to be good for business," he said.

Lindsay Harris, the Defra official leading the team looking at GHG reporting, kicks off the discussion by explaining the government's position. "There is no preferred government option. Ministers haven't made up their minds yet," he stresses.

Download the full article here to track the discussion and debate around the options laid out in the consultation.

For more information please email David Symons or call +44 (0) 207 3145725.

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