The Sillion Briefing 04.10.2024
In this Briefing...
Labour Conference 2024 – China Carbon Trading Scheme
TPT credibility tool – UK coal closures
British Airways carbon removal – Net zero building standards
UK National Energy Operator – NYC Climate Week
Government
Vision for green at the Labour Conference
The Labour Party hosted its annual party conference last week in Liverpool – its first in over a decade as the country’s leading party. We’ve summarised the key energy and environmental policy promises below:
The UK’s new publicly-owned entity Great British Energy will be headquarted in Aberdeen, with an interim CEO chosen in the next few weeks to oversee public investment in nuclear and renewables projects.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed that the Government intends to publish the framework for a new Industrial Strategy this month.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy launched a new Global Clean Power Alliance to support the global shift away from fossil fuels.
Energy Security and Net-Zero Secretary Ed Miliband pledged to raise energy efficiency standards for rented homes, as part of a wider ‘Warm Homes Plan’.
China looks to expand its carbon trading scheme
China has had its China Carbon Emission Trading Exchange since 2021, but since its inception the market has only covered the power sector. Emissions Trading Systems (ETS) such as China’s Exchange allow companies in sectors a certain amount of carbon emissions, above which they are required to pay. In response to upcoming regulatory changes from the EU introducing the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), China is now under greater pressure to decarbonise its heavy industrial sectors to remain competitive, with Beijing seeking public feedback on a plan to include cement, steel and aluminium into its scheme. This could bring emissions covered by its ETS to around 60% of the country’s total.
Disclosures
New transition plan credibility tool released
A new guidance framework, developed by the Assessing Transition Plans Collective (ATP-Col) has been released to help evaluate the credibility of company climate transition plans. While the Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) has been around for nearly a year now, a variety of other transition plan frameworks and approaches are also present in the market, as they increasingly become a part of mandated disclosures through CSRD and IFRS. The ATPC’s guidance seeks to provide a framework-agnostic methodology for assessing the validity of a transition plan, and proposes 43 ‘red flags’ that assessors and plan creators should look for when judging plans. ATP-Col’s stated goal is to harmonize assessment practices in a ‘non-competitive manner’, with its document designed to be used by all rather than proposing a new approach. It’s worth investigating if you’re looking to develop your own transition plan.
Interested in learning more about best-practice Transition planning? Read Sillion’s Climate Transition Planning Guide here, and get in touch if you’d like to speak: hello@sillion.co.uk
One Number: 142-years
Length of time Britain used coal for electricity, which has come to the end with the closure of Uniper’s Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant in Nottinghamshire. In 2015, the UK set a goal to shut down all coal plants within 10 years. At the time, coal accounted for nearly 30% of the country’s electricity generation, but by last year, that figure had dropped to just over 1%. The closure also makes Britain the first G7 country to fully phase out coal-fired power, in keeping with the G7’s commitment to complete the transition by 2035.
Corporate
Record carbon removal deal for British Airways
British Airways has signed a groundbreaking $11 million deal to purchase credits from carbon removal company CUR8, becoming the largest purchaser in the UK. As part of the carrier’s strategy to reach net zero by 2050, British Airways will purchase 33,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits over six years. British Airways plans to offset about one-third of its emissions through carbon removal, while the rest will come from advancements in aircraft technology, operational improvements, and sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs). Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) solutions, which extract CO₂ directly from the atmosphere through either natural or technological methods, are still in their relative infancy – but their popularity among hard-to-abate sectors like aviation is on the rise.
Constructing a new standard for net zero buildings
A coalition of climate and building sector organisations – including BRE (the Building Research Establishment), who produce the widely-used BREEAM methodology – have released a pilot version of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard. The standard aims to provide a common methodology for the construction industry to prove that built assets are aligned with the UK’s carbon and energy budgets. If you’re in construction or an adjacent sector, it’s worth taking a look. The coalition is now looking for buildings to pilot the Standard with.
Energy
UK launches National Energy Operator
The UK has officially launched the National Energy System Operator (NESO), a key body responsible for overseeing the nation’s transition to a net-zero energy grid. NESO will manage the integration of renewable energy sources, ensuring grid stability and energy security as the country moves away from fossil fuels. In addition to supporting the UK's 2050 net-zero goals, it will focus on balancing electricity and gas systems while facilitating investment in clean energy infrastructure. The move underscores the UK's commitment to accelerating decarbonisation efforts across the energy sector, in keeping with the Labour Government’s 2030 clean power target.
Events
Climate Week NYC - it's a wrap
With COP29 in Baku receiving comparatively less attention than previous climate summits, more eyes were on New York Climate Week this year, as around 2,000 politicians, business representatives and sustainability professionals descended on Manhattan for a week of events.
Climate Week has provided its own round-up – and we’ve summarised some of the key announcements, many of which were US-focused, below:
A group of companies including Google committed to running on 24/7 carbon-free energy, a more advanced method of renewable energy procurement
The IFRS published a guide on voluntary application of the ISSB standards, intended for companies looking to begin disclosing on the IFRS Sustainability Standards ahead of them becoming mandatory
US Steel unveiled its first steel product to receive the ResponsibleSteel certification, a standard created by non-profit Responsible Steel
Tim Lenton of the University of Exeter launched a report on creating “positive tipping points” through regulatory mandates to accelerate change
Calendar
2024
COP: COP16 Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia – 21st October-1st November 2024
COP: COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan – 11th-22nd November 2024
SBTi: Draft Corporate Net-Zero Standard (CNZS) V2.0 public consultation – Q4 2024
ESMA: ESMA Guidelines on fund names using ESG or sustainability-related terms to apply to funds – 21st November 2024
2025
CSRD: Undertakings previously subject to the EU's NFRD must report ESRS in their Annual Report this year (i.e. FY24 reporting) – 1st January 2025
UK SRS: UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (SRS) published – Q1 2025
UK SDR: UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) rules on labelling of sustainability-focused funds to come into force – April 2025
ESMA: ESMA Guidelines on fund names using ESG or sustainability-related terms to apply to funds which existed before the rule change – 21st May 2024
London Climate Action Week 2025 – 21st-29th June 2025
COP: COP30, Belém, Brazil – November 2025
SBTi: Corporate Net-Zero Standard (CNZS) V2.0 to come into force – by end of 2025
2026
CSRD: All large undertakings must report ESRS in their Annual Report this year (i.e. FY25 reporting). In CSRD parlance, a 'large undertaking' is a company exceeding two of the three following thresholds: Balance sheet total €25 million, net turnover €50 million, 250 employees – 1st January 2026
UK SRS: UK listed companies need to begin work on their IFRS Sustainability Standards (ISSB Standards) and transition plan reporting, in order to be ready for next year
2027
UK SRS: UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (SRS) to become mandatory for FY26 reporting, making the IFRS Sustainability Standards S1 and S2 (the ISSB Standards) and transition plan reporting mandatory – FY26 reporting
CSRD: Listed SMEs must report ESRS in their Annual Report this year (i.e. FY26 reporting). In CSRD parlance, an SME is a company which exceeds only one (or none) of the following thresholds: Balance sheet total €25 million, net turnover €50 million, 250 employees – 1st January 2027
CSDDD: The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) will start applying to very large companies (over 5,000 employees and over €1.5 billion turnover) – 26th July 2027
2028
CSDDD: The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) will start applying to large companies (over 3,000 employees and over €900 million turnover) – 26th July 2028
2029
CSRD: Non-EU undertakings with EU branches / subsidiaries must report ESRS for the previous business year. This applies if the non-EU undertaking has a net turnover generated within the EU above €150 million, and if it has either subsidiaries that are large undertakings or SMEs (CSRD definitions of these are given in the calendar above) with securities traded on an EU market; or if it has branches with net turnover generated in the EU above €40 million – 1st Jan 2029
CSDDD: The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) will start applying to all remaining companies within its scope (over 1,000 employees and over €450 million turnover) – 26th July 2029
Questions on the above? Contact alexander.bridge@sillion.co.uk with any queries, comments or feedback.