CLIMATE CHANGE | IN FOCUS


those of politicians, lobby groups, think-tanks and consumers. There is a growing consensus among scientists that human activity is a major contributor to the changing climate. The UK government has set an ambitious target for 2050 of cutting carbon emissions to 80 per cent, below 1990 levels. Businesses have made clear that they want


to see policies that give them the confidence to reduce their carbon emissions and incentives to invest in low-carbon technology. The CBI has consistently called for and welcomed a


target-based approach, but it has warned that these policies must not undermine business competitiveness. An independent study for the Energy-intensive Users Group estimated that energy accounted for between 25 and 60 per cent of production costs for companies in energy- intensive sectors such as steel and forging, ceramics and brick, fertiliser, aluminium and industrial gases. There are many elements to this. One essential


element is to find a way to put a price on pollution. One option is to put a tax on harmful activities but


that has run into opposition from politicians and businesses worried about the impact on their energy-intensive industries. An alternative is to create a market to set a price for carbon emissions. While both present challenges for carbon-intensive industries there is a trend towards moving to market pricing. The largest such scheme is the EU


Emission Trading System (ETS), which was launched in 2005 and applies to more than 11,000 power stations and industrial plants in 31 countries, as well as airlines. It covers »


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