The Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006 (c 19) is an
Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
which aims to boost the number of heat and electricity
microgeneration
Microgeneration is the small-scale production of heat or electric power from a "low carbon source," as an alternative or supplement to traditional centralized grid-connected power.
Microgeneration technologies include small-scale wind turbin ...
installations in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, so helping to cut
carbon emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and larg ...
and reduce
fuel poverty A household is said to be in fuel poverty when its members cannot afford to keep adequately warm at a reasonable cost, given their income. The term is mainly used in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, although discussions on fuel poverty are increas ...
.
The Act was piloted through the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
as a
Private Member's Bill
A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...
by
Mark Lazarowicz
Mark Lazarowicz ( ; born Marek Lazarowicz; 8 August 1953) is a British Labour Co-operative politician and lawyer who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh North and Leith from 2001 to 2015.
Early life
Lazarowicz was born in Romfor ...
,
MP.
The Rt Hon
Eric Forth
Eric Forth (9 September 1944 – 17 May 2006) was a British Conservative politician. He served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Birmingham North from 1979 to 1984. He then served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Worcestershir ...
MP, a well known opponent of Private Members' Bills who often
fillibustered them in Parliament, died during the passage of this bill through Parliament, after having prolonged the debate during
Third Reading
A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature.
In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming, ...
and
Report
A report is a document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are almost always in the form of written documents. Usage
In ...
for a number of days.
Microgeneration in the United Kingdom
Microgeneration
Microgeneration is the small-scale production of heat or electric power from a "low carbon source," as an alternative or supplement to traditional centralized grid-connected power.
Microgeneration technologies include small-scale wind turbin ...
technologies are seen as having considerable potential by the Government. Microgeneration involves the local production of electricity by homes and businesses from low-energy sources including small scale
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
s,
ground source heat pump
A ground source heat pump (also geothermal heat pump) is a heating/cooling system for buildings that uses a type of heat pump to transfer heat to or from the ground, taking advantage of the relative constancy of temperatures of the earth through ...
s and
solar electricity
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...
installations.
The Government's own microgeneration strategy was launched in March 2006 was seen as a disappointment by many commentators. In contrast, the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act has been viewed as a positive step.
The Act
The principal measures in the act are to:
* require the Secretary of State (
DEFRA DEFRA may refer to:
* Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, United States law
* Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom government department
{{Disambiguation ...
) to report annually on
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
during the year plus steps taken to cut them;
* require
local authorities
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
to take into account the content of a new 'energy measures report' that the Secretary of State will be required to publish within one year from the signing of the Act;
* require the Secretary of State to set national microgeneration targets no later than 31 March 2009;
* require the Secretary of State to expand the ''annual reports on progress towards sustainable energy aims'' (under the
Sustainable Energy Act 2003), to include:
**progress in meeting the microgeneration targets;
**progress in meeting the target (under the
Housing Act 2004
The Housing Act 2004 (c 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced Home Information Packs, which have since been abandoned. It also significantly extends the regulation of houses in multiple occupation by requiring som ...
) for the ''energy efficiency of residential accommodation in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
'';
**progress in meeting the target (under the Housing Act 2004) for the ''emissions of carbon dioxide in England'';
**progress in meeting the target (under the Housing Act 2004) for the ''number of households in which one or more persons are living in
fuel poverty A household is said to be in fuel poverty when its members cannot afford to keep adequately warm at a reasonable cost, given their income. The term is mainly used in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, although discussions on fuel poverty are increas ...
'';
**things done to promote community energy projects;
**things done to promote the use of heat from renewable sources.
* give the Secretary of State the power to impose a duty on energy companies to buy energy from microgeneration schemes, if the industry fails to create a voluntary scheme within one year.
* introduce a statutory review that, it is hoped, may change
permitted development
The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (the "GPDO 2015") is a statutory instrument, applying in England, that grants planning permission for certain types of development (such development is then ref ...
orders to allow certain domestic microgeneration without the need for
planning permission
Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...
. A consultation period on the proposed changes ends on 27 June 2007.
* make changes to the
Building Regulations to:
** include microgeneration within their scope;
** increasing to two years the time limit for prosecuting contraventions of the Building Regulations relating to energy use, energy conservation or carbon emissions;
** require the Secretary of State to report on compliance with these aspects of the Building Regulations and steps proposed to increase compliance.
* change the energy efficiency provisions of the
Gas Act 1986
The Gas Act 1986 (Chapter 44) created the framework for privatisation of the gas supply industry in Great Britain. This legislation would be replacing the British Gas Corporation (government or state ownership) with British Gas plc (private own ...
and the
Electricity Act 1989
The Electricity Act 1989 (c. 29) provided for the privatisation of the electricity supply industry in Great Britain, by replacing the Central Electricity Generating Board in England and Wales and by restructuring the South of Scotland Electricity ...
to carbon emission based targets;
* require the Secretary of State to report on the contribution that can be made by
dynamic demand technology to cutting greenhouse gas emissions;
* require the Secretary of State to promote community energy projects;
* permit
parish councils and
community council
A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain.
In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. In ...
s to incur expenditure (under the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
) to encourage or promote microgeneration,
biomass
Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...
production,
biomass
Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...
fuels, and energy efficiency measures;
* give a duty to the Secretary of State to promote the use of heat from renewable sources;
* modify the
Electricity Act 1989
The Electricity Act 1989 (c. 29) provided for the privatisation of the electricity supply industry in Great Britain, by replacing the Central Electricity Generating Board in England and Wales and by restructuring the South of Scotland Electricity ...
to enable
Renewables Obligation Certificates
The Renewables Obligation (RO) is designed to encourage generation of electricity from eligible Renewable energy in the United Kingdom, renewable sources in the United Kingdom. It was introduced in England and Wales and in a different form (the Re ...
to be issued to a wider range of people and organisations;
* modify the
Energy Act 2004
The Energy Act 2004 (c 20) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerned with nuclear power, renewable and sustainable energy and energy regulation. Royal assent was granted on 22 July 2004.
Part 1 Chapter 1 Section 10
Section 10 ...
with the aim of capping charges for the transmission of renewable electricity produced in the
Scottish islands
This is a list of islands of Scotland, the mainland of which is part of the island of Great Britain. Also included are various other related tables and lists. The definition of an offshore island used in this list is "land that is surrounded by ...
, so reducing production costs and encouraging
wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...
and
wave power
Wave power is the capture of energy of wind waves to do useful work – for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or pumping water. A machine that exploits wave power is a wave energy converter (WEC).
Waves are generated by wind p ...
.
Microgeneration technologies
For the purposes of the Act, microgeneration technologies include:
*
biomass
Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...
*
biofuel
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...
s
*
fuel cell
A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...
s
*
photovoltaics
Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...
*water (including
wave power
Wave power is the capture of energy of wind waves to do useful work – for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or pumping water. A machine that exploits wave power is a wave energy converter (WEC).
Waves are generated by wind p ...
and
tidal power
Tidal power or tidal energy is harnessed by converting energy from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity using various methods.
Although not yet widely used, tidal energy has the potential for future electricity generation. Ti ...
)
*
wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...
*
solar power
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...
*
geothermal sources
*
combined heat and power systems
See also
*
Climate Change Act 2008
The Climate Change Act 2008 (c 27) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes it the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure that the net UK carbon account for all six Kyoto greenhouse gases for the year 2050 is at l ...
*
Climate change in the United Kingdom
Climate change in the United Kingdom is impacting the country's environment and human population in many ways. The country's climate is becoming warmer, with drier summers and wetter winters. The frequency and intensity of storms, floods, droug ...
*
Energy policy of the United Kingdom
The energy policy of the United Kingdom refers to the United Kingdom's efforts towards reducing energy intensity, reducing energy poverty, and maintaining energy supply reliability. The United Kingdom has had success in this, though energy int ...
*
Energy efficiency in British housing
Domestic housing in the United Kingdom presents a possible opportunity for achieving the 20% overall cut in UK greenhouse gas emissions targeted by the Government for 2010. However, the process of achieving that drop is proving problematic given t ...
*
Sustainable energy
Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as greenh ...
*
United Kingdom Climate Change Programme
The United Kingdom's Climate Change Programme was launched in November 2000 by the British government in response to its commitment agreed at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The 2000 programme was updat ...
References
External links
*
Explanatory notesto the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006.
Planning Policy Statement 22 (PPS22) on renewable energy
Media
* March 9, 2006, ''
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...