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11 Jun 2007 : Column 834W—continued

Comparing 2003 and 2005 emissions in the UK from incumbent installations in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme shows a reduction of around 10 million tones (Mt) of carbon dioxide (CO2). This equates to 4 per
11 Jun 2007 : Column 835W
cent. However, a number of new installations commenced operation and entered the scheme in 2004 and 2005, emitting a total of around 5 Mt CO2 in 2005. Therefore, the net total reduction in emissions from UK installations (incumbent and new) in the EU ETS was approximately 5 Mt CO2 between 2003 and 2005.

The 2006 EU ETS results in the UK show an increase in emissions from 2005 of 8.8 Mt CO2. This increase was due mainly to unusually high international gas prices leading to a switch to coal in electricity generation. It is difficult to assess what the level of emissions would have been if the scheme had not been in place, but they are likely to have been higher.

A study carried out last year estimated that emissions reductions (abatement) across the EU resulting from the implementation of EU ETS in 2005 could be somewhere in the region of 50 Mt CO2 to 200 Mt CO2. We are not aware of similar analysis for 2006.

The Government are committed to a strong and effective carbon market as a key factor in combating climate change. Phase I of the scheme is a learning phase and, for this reason, caution should be exercised when trying to draw conclusions from the results.

Ivory: Botswana

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the proposal by the Government of Botswana to allow the trade in stockpiled ivory on an annual basis; and if he will make a statement. [141252]

Barry Gardiner: The Government of Botswana's proposals, for annual sales and an increase in the size of any one-off stockpile sale, are to be discussed in the course of the 14th Conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Parties. The UK, along with EU member states, is currently looking at these proposals. We are clear that an annual quota for certain Southern African countries could only go ahead after the one-off sale has taken place and in circumstances where that sale's impact on the conservation status and poaching of all elephant populations has been fully assessed.

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the proposal put forward by the Governments of Botswana and Namibia for the unlimited commercial trade in raw ivory at the forthcoming UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species conference. [141253]

Barry Gardiner: I am not aware of any proposals by the Governments of Botswana and Namibia for the unlimited commercial trade in raw ivory.

Ivory: Kenya

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the 20-year moratorium on the trade of ivory proposed by the Governments of Kenya and Mali for the forthcoming UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species conference; and whether this proposal will have the support of UK delegates. [141255]


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Barry Gardiner: While I appreciate the reasons given for the proposed 20-year moratorium, I do not agree with the principle and the UK will therefore oppose the proposal. Such a position would be against the tenet of the Convention; that decisions are taken on the basis of the best available scientific and trade data available at the time. In practice, no worthwhile purpose would be served, as a moratorium could be reconsidered and reversed at any subsequent Conference of Parties.

Ivory: Trade

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the level of the international illegal trade of elephant ivory. [141254]

Barry Gardiner: The UK has seen, and is satisfied with, the assessments of the level of the international illegal trade in elephant ivory made by the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS). Indeed, since 2003, the UK has contributed £119,200 toward the ETIS programme.

Oil: Pollution

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 May 2007, Official Report, columns 44-45W, on Oil: Pollution, whether he intends to pursue additional measures against oil pollution in those regions where the total number of private and commercial oil pollution incidents has risen between 2002 and 2006; and if he will make a statement. [141677]

Ian Pearson: The latest figures on oil pollution incidents show a clear downward trend in most English regions. This suggests that the measures in place are the right ones. The Environment Agency, as regulator, will consider whether additional enforcement action is required where the downward trend is not in evidence.

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the targets set in the Guidance Notes for the Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) (England) Regulations 2001 of reducing oil related water pollution incidents by about half between 1999 and 2005 have been met; and if he will make a statement. [141678]

Ian Pearson: I understand from the Environment Agency that the reduction in oil-related pollution incidents between 1999 and 2005 is substantial. I shall write to the hon. Member when I have the precise figures from the Agency to confirm whether the target has been met. I will arrange for copies of the letter to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Packaging: Recycling

Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department has taken to encourage retailers to provide on-pack information about recyclability of packaging. [140805]


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Mr. Bradshaw: Most, if not all packaging is recyclable. Commission Decision 97/129/EC provides for numbering and abbreviations to identify packaging materials. While the marking system is voluntary, we would encourage manufacturers to use the markings, wherever possible, to aid the process of sorting and recycling of packaging waste.

Poultry: Auctions

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects it to be safe to allow poultry auctions to reopen. [141020]

Mr. Bradshaw: At present, there are no bans on poultry auctions. The temporary ban on gatherings involving chickens and ducks during the recent case of low pathogenic H7N2 avian influenza was lifted on Friday 1 June. Bird gatherings, including auctions, can now proceed as before, subject to the usual biosecurity, notification and record keeping conditions in the general licence, which can be found on the DEFRA website.

Recycling: Regulation

Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government plan to review regulations for the operators of green waste recycling centres; and if he will make a statement. [141685]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Environmental Permitting Programme, launched by DEFRA in partnership with the Environment Agency and Welsh Assembly Government, seeks to combine the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) and waste management licensing systems into a common permitting and compliance system.

The new system, consisting of fewer, simpler rules and clearer guidance, will result in a simpler and more unified approach allowing industry, regulators and the public to focus more on environmental outcomes and less on how they are achieved. A simpler approach should allow businesses to more easily diversify into new areas of waste management—for example, the new system will allow a waste operator to extend their site more easily.

There is also an exemption from the need for a permit for smaller composting operations.

All of the exemptions are currently being reviewed with the aim of revising them by April 2009.

Recycling: Voluntary Organisations

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the impact on voluntary sector recycling projects of the introduction by local authorities of twin bins. [140920]

Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 7 June 2007]: No such estimate has been made by my Department.


11 Jun 2007 : Column 838W

Waste Management

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what expenditure from the public purse on (a) anaerobic digestion and (b) composting of waste was in each of the last three years; what it is expected to be in each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement. [140638]

Mr. Bradshaw: My Department is providing a range of targeted support to help increase the UK’s processing capacity for organic waste and develop markets for its end products. Projects are being delivered by DEFRA’s Waste Implementation Programme, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the Environment Agency.

Composting

DEFRA provided £3,266,000 in 2004-05, £3,587,000 in 2005-06 and £3,479,000 in 2006-07 for delivery of WRAP’s Organics programme, which is aiming to increase the UK’s composting capacity by 23 per cent. A further £6.4 million has been allocated for 2007-08. Funding for future years has not yet been decided.

For every £1 spent within the Organics programme, an investment of approximately £2.80 has been made into the corporate industry by the private sector.

WRAP’s Home Composting Programme was allocated £7,045,000 in 2004-05, £13,085,000 in 2005-06 and £10,116,000 in 2006-07. A further £300,000 was awarded to WRAP in 2006-07 for their Food Waste Collection Trials and £110,000 has been allocated to them for their work on anaerobic digestion in 2007-08. The aim of this programme is to increase waste diversion through home composting, where local authorities are WRAP’s main delivery partners.

Anaerobic Digestion

The Waste Implementation Programme’s £30 million New Technologies Programme, has contracted with four anaerobic, aerobic and in-vessel composting organisations to provide demonstrator projects. A total of £5,917,576 has been allocated to four plants.

In addition, approximately £600,000 will be spent over the next two years on research and development projects running alongside each demonstrator.

Expenditure over the last three years has been as follows:


11 Jun 2007 : Column 839W
£

2004-05

0

2005-06

Total

1,139,749

Bioganix

125,348

Envar

280,563

Biocycle

733,838

2006-07

Total

1,225,320

Premier

911,263

Bioganix

314,057

2007-08

Total

3,022,004

Bioganix

85,595

Envar

788,596

Premier

1,610,651

Biocycle

537,162

2008-09

Total

530,417

Envar

152,417

Premier

378,000

2009-10

(1)0

(1 )Projects are expected to be completed in 2008-09.

Under the auspices of the Methane to Markets partnership, DEFRA hosted a high-level international workshop in November 2006. Its objective was to identify the policies needed to grow markets for anaerobic digestion in order to reduce global levels of agricultural methane emissions. We contributed £58,241.96 to the cost of the event.

DEFRA has also spent £52,000 in 2004-05 £3,000 in 2005-06 and £132,000 in 2006-07 on research and development of anaerobic digestion. Resource allocation for future research has yet to be determined, but DEFRA is committed to ongoing funding for research in this area.

Un-ringfenced funding is also provided to local authorities under the Waste Performance and Efficiency Grant, which is supporting new and more efficient ways to deliver waste reduction, increase recycling and divert waste from landfill. Local authorities are free to choose which projects they support to achieve these objectives. Local authorities received £45 million in 2005-06, £105 million in 2006-07. £110 million is allocated for 2007-08.

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government plans to put in place targets for the anaerobic digestion of (a) household organic waste and (b) agricultural waste; and if he will make a statement. [140645]

Mr. Bradshaw: My Department has no plans to set specific targets for anaerobic digestion. However, we are committed to making the most of the potential of anaerobic digestion to contribute to a number of our key objectives: reducing greenhouse emissions, improving air and water quality, and a growth in the production of renewable energy.

The UK Biomass Strategy and the recently published Waste Strategy for England 2007 set out the important contribution which anaerobic digestion can make to achieving these objectives. Waste Strategy for England 2007 identifies anaerobic digestion as the preferred technology for recovering energy from waste and outlines measures to promote its greater uptake. It particularly encourages local authorities and businesses to consider using anaerobic digestion to treat separately collected food waste.

In the Energy White Paper, the Government announced that we would be consulting on the banding of the renewables obligation. Under these proposals,
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electricity produced by anaerobic digestion would receive two renewable obligation certificates per megawatt hours.

The Environment Agency has agreed to develop a standard for digestate in 2007-08. This will allow modern regulatory principles to be applied to the use of this material and bring certainty to when this material is considered to be “fully recovered”. This should help to facilitate the development of markets for digestate.

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of (a) household organic and (b) agricultural waste was (i) aerobically and (ii) anaerobically digested in each of the last seven years; how much he expects to be digested in 2007; and if he will make a statement. [140646]

Mr. Bradshaw: The total organic household waste collected by local authorities in England for central composting since 2000 is shown in the following table(1). This is also expressed as a percentage of total household waste arisings. 2006-07 figures are not yet available. Based on an extrapolation from historical growth rates, the Waste and Resources Action Programme estimates the figure is likely to be between 2.9 million and 3.2 million tonnes.

Compost tonnages ( T housand tonnes) As percentage of total household waste

2000-01

798

3.2

2001-02

954

3.7

2002-03

1,189

4.6

2003-04

1,362

5.4

2004-05

1,960

7.6

2005-06

2,439

9.6


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