Carbon Reduction Commitment Timeline

CRC Timeline

Please note this timeline is based on the ‘Government Response and Policy Decisions to the Consultation on the Draft Order to implement the CRC’ published on 7 October 2009, the draft CRC Order 2010 published in March 2009 and the Environment Agency’s Registration Guidance. It will be updated when a final version of the Order is made.

This timeline explains how the Phases overlap. For further explanation of the terms used in this timeline please see: ■ The key below. ■ Practice note - Carbon Reduction Commitment http://environment.practicallaw.com/0-294-1952. April - 1st Fixed Price Sale participants buy allowances to cover forecast emissions for CY 2011/12

This a reporting year only. No need to purchase and surrender allowances.

2008

2009

April - 2nd Fixed Price Sale participants buy allowances to cover forecast emissions for CY 2012/13

2010

2011

July - Annual Report and Performance Commitment participants surrender allowances for CY 2011/12

2012

2013

2014

2015

April - Auction participants buy allowances to cover forecast emissions for CY 2013/14

Apart from submitting the Footprint Report, there are no actions in respect of this Compliance Year.

The Annual Report containing emissions data relating to the last Annual Reporting Year of the Phase will be submitted in the July of the 2nd Annual Reporting Year of the next Phase.

2016

2017

2018

The Recycling Payment made in the 2nd Annual Reporting Year of a Phase will distribute the revenue that results from the Auction in the April of that year. The League Table rankings that determine the size of the Recycling Payment for each participant will be based on the emissions data relating to the last Annual Reporting Year of the preceding Phase.

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN APR JLY OCT DEC JAN

SY 2010/11

SY 2011/12

SY 2012/13

SY 2013/14

SY 2014/15

SY 2015/16

SY 2016/17

SY 2017/18

SY 2018/19

SY 2019/20

SY 2020/21

SY 2021/22

SY 2022/23

SY 2023/24

SY 2024/25

Phase 1 Introductory Phase Footprint Year Qualification Year Annual Reporting Years AR & PC

FR R

AR

AR & PC Annual Reporting Years

Qualification Year

Phase 2 Capped Phase

AR & PC

Footprint Year R

FR

AR & PC

AR & PC

AR & PC

AR & PC

Annual Reporting Years Qualification Year

Phase 3 Capped Phase

Footprint Year R

July - Footprint Report for the Introductory Phase is submitted in the 2nd Annual Reporting Year.

Phase 4 Capped Phase

July - Annual Report

AR & PC

FR

October - League Table & Recycling Payment

AR & PC

AR & PC

AR & PC

AR & PC

Annual Reporting Years Qualification Year

Footprint Year R

FR

AR & PC

Phase continues as above...

Key Item

Acronym

Explanation

Item

Acronym

Explanation

Annual Reports

AR

An AR covers information about a participant’s emissions covered by CRC. ARs need to be submitted by the end of July following the end of a CY. The first AR is due in July 2011 in respect of CY 2010/2011. The AR will include information about a participant’s emissions for the preceding CY. Because the Phases overlap, in the FY and in the 1st and 2nd ARYs of Phase 2 and onwards, the AR will cover emissions relating to the relevant CY of the previous Phase.

Performance Commitment

PC

The PC is complied with by surrendering sufficient allowances to cover a participant’s CRC emissions for the previous CY of the Phase. Allowances must be surrendered by the end of the July following the relevant CY. The PC only applies in relation to the 3rd to 6th ARYs of the relevant Phase. The 1st and 2nd ARYs of the Introductory Phase do not have a PC. The first PC is in July 2012 and relates to a participant’s emissions in CY 2011/2012.

Annual Reporting Year

ARY

The Environment Agency’s Registration Guidance published on 9 November refers to this term but the Draft Order does not. According to the Registration Guidance each year of the Introductory Phase is an ARY. In subsequent Phases, the ARYs run from year 2 to year 7 of each Phase.

Phases

There will be a Fixed Price Sale of allowances lasting for the whole of April in the 2nd and 3rd ARYs of the Introductory Phase. The price of allowances will be capped at £12/ tonne C02. In subsequent Phases, there will be an Auction lasting for the whole of April in the 2nd to the 6th ARYs.

Auctions/ Fixed Price Sale

Compliance Years

Each Phase is divided into CYs. The Introductory Phase consists of 3 CYs only. Subsequent Phases will consist of 7 CYs and will overlap. This timeline shows the first 4 Phases: ■ Phase 1 (Introductory Phase): 1 April 2010 - 31 March 2013 ■ Phase 2: 1 April 2011 - 31 March 2018 ■ Phase 3: 1 April 2016 - 31 March 2023 ■ Phase 4: 1 April 2021 - 31 March 2028

CY

Each Phase is divided into CYs. (In the timeline above all the CYs in a Phase are coloured and each Phase has been allocated a different colour). The Introductory Phase consists of 3 CYs only. Each subsequent Phase will consist of 7 CYs. The Draft Order refers to SYs but the ‘Government Response and Policy Decisions to the Consultation on the Draft Order to Implement CRC’ published on 7 October 2009 and the Environment Agency’s Registration Guidance published on 9 November 2009 refer to CYs. It is not clear which definition will be used in the final Order but CYs appear to refer to the SYs that make up a Phase. So, for example, a QY is a SY but not a CY since it relates to a Phase but is not part of that Phase.

Qualification Year

QY

Recycling Payment

The 2008 calendar year is the QY for the Introductory Phase. For subsequent Phases, the QY is the SY prior to the FY of the relevant Phase. The purpose of the QY is to determine whether an organisation is subject to that Phase of the CRC. This is based on whether an organisation has consumed more than 6,000 MWh of electricity via Half Hourly Meters during the QY. If it has, it will need to Register during the FY for that Phase. The Recycling Payment will be made in October of each CY. Although it distributes revenue received from the auction of allowances in the same CY, the calculation of the recycling payments is based on a participant’s position in the League Table, which in turn is based on their emissions data for the previous CY (which in some cases will be a CY in the previous Phase).

Footprint Reports

FR

The FR for the relevant Phase needs to be submitted by the last working day of July following the end of the FY. There is only one FR produced for each Phase.

Footprint Year

FY

The FY is the first CY of each Phase. Participants must look at their total emissions for the FY and assess which emissions will be included within CRC for that Phase (i.e. the participant’s CRC emissions).

Registration

R

The League Table will be published in October of each CY. The data used to calculate the rankings of each participant in the League Table will be based on the information in the AR for the preceding CY. Once any disputes as to ranking have been resolved, a recalculated League Table will be published in the following April at the beginning of the next CY.

Participants register for CRC by providing the Scheme Administrator with the information specified in the CRC Order. The ‘window’ for Registration in the Introductory Phase ends on 30 September 2010. There will be a ‘window’ for Registration running from April to September in the FY of each subsequent Phase.

Scheme Year

SY

Each SY runs from 1 April to 31 March.

League Table