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Climate change has conquered every aspect of life. The law is no exception. In order to encourage, or rather, pressure companies into decreasing their greenhouse gas emission, and so that the government can set targets, a new climate change bill is set to hit businesses across the UK later this year.
At the moment, it is only the larger companies with a legal requirement to produce and report on their greenhouse emissions on an annual basis to the government. This all happens under the Companies Act 2006, and excludes smaller companies. Some companies may also be under obligation from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, EU ETS.
The new bill will create a level playing field. Clause 80 will make it public knowledge how much is being emitted and by whom, and the government firmly maintains that the prospect of this will push numerous companies to 'go green'. For the time being, nevertheless, it is still early days, and the bill has hurdles to overcome before it can receive Royal Assent.
What is not in question, however, is the fact that emission calculations will produce new costs for companies. In addition, reporting on the results will bear a price. With the economics of business being a primal concern for employers, talk of this new bill is causing worry.
With view of the bigger picture, though, worry is unnecessary just yet. The new duty could well lead to cost savings. An increase in energy efficiency may well reduce future bills. Then, companies have the opportunity to invest in generating their own electricity - which they could proceed to sell to the national grid at a later stage.
To conclude, thus, it's crystal that the government is attempting to push for green. It's a positive move, although outwardly questionable and unpopular. In my opinion, it is merely the first of many to come, and we should equip ourselves, preparing for harder, stricter days to come.
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