British schools to join carbon trading scheme

David Adam
guardian.co.uk,
Tuesday July 15, 2008

Schools are to join airlines, power stations and supermarkets in trading carbon, under British government plans to tackle global warming to be announced on Wednesday.
Hilary Benn, environment secretary, will say that pollution from state schools is to be included in a scheme that will force hotels, universities and other medium sized organisations to buy and sell carbon permits.
The scheme, due to start in 2010, will run alongside the European Emissions Trading Scheme, which already includes the largest polluters such as cement makers. The EETS will be expanded to include airlines from 2012.
The school emissions will join those from fire fighters, leisure centres, town halls and other public sector buildings as counting towards the total carbon footprint of local authorities participating in the scheme. The schools will not trade carbon directly – that will be the responsibility of the local authority.
Benn said: "Young people stand to gain most tomorrow from the action we take on climate change today. That's why schools should be included in the shift to a low carbon economy.
"Bringing schools into the carbon footprint of local authorities taking part in this scheme will encourage greater energy efficiency, with children seeing the results in their own schools."
The UK trading scheme, called the Carbon Reduction Commitment, will include about 5,000 organisations with electricity bills over £500,000 a year.
The government says the scheme will be financially neutral overall, with those bodies who cut their emissions being rewarded and those who overshoot their allowances being forced to buy extra permits.