Memorandum by The British Lime Association
(CC67)
1. This is the response of the British Lime
Association (BLA) to the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs
Committee's request for further evidence regarding its enquiry
into the UK Climate Change Programme, and refers in particular
to the Climate Change Levy.
2 The BLA members are Buxton Lime Industries,
Hanson Aggregates, Lafarge Redland Aggregates, RMC Industrial
Minerals, Singleton Birch, Totternhoe Lime & Stone Co, and
Tarmac Quarry Products. These companies produce more than 95 per
cent of the lime sold in the UK. Approximately 10 per cent of
the lime produced by BLA members is exported.
The BLA is a constituent body of the Quarry
Products Association.
3 The BLA fully supports the Government's
commitment to the Kyoto Protocol and the target for reducing greenhouse
gas emissions but does not accept that taxation of business use
of energy is the most effective way to achieve this target. As
one of the most highly energy intensive industries in the economy,
the lime industry has always as a matter of course pursued energy
efficiency investments and energy saving measures in order to
remain competitive. The tax will impose costs which will adversely
affect the future development of the industry to the detriment
of the UK economy. Voluntary agreements, for energy intensive
industries in particular, would be an equally effective, less
bureaucratic, less costly, and fiscally neutral means of achieving
the same result.
4 Notwithstanding the comments in 3 above,
the BLA acknowledges that the Government has listened to industry's
concerns and welcomes the revised proposals on the Climate Change
Levy announced in the Chancellor's pre-Budget Report on 9 November
1999. These will reduce the impact of the CCL on manufacturing
industry but the effect is still far from revenue neutral for
the lime industry. Details have still to be clarified by HM Customs
& Excise, but initial calculations indicate that the revised
annual charge on BLA members before any negotiated abatement will
be of the order of £1.5 million whereas the reduction of
0.3 per cent in NIC will amount to only £55,000. Energy intensive
industries are not labour intensive.
5 the burden of meeting the Kyoto target
should not just fall on the industrial sectors of the economy.
The DETR's own statistics show that domestic, transport and other
sectors emit almost 50 per cent of the CO2 released
in the UK and power stations account for a further 27 per cent.
It would be more equitable and less damaging to the UK's interests
if each sector was required to contribute to meeting this commitment.
18 November 1999
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