Industry bodies have slammed a Carbon Trust report, claiming they were not consulted on it. Last month, the Carbon Trust published a report on the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), which concluded that the ETS will not damage the overall competitiveness of British industry. The report covered five industry sectors: cement, steel, aluminium, electricity and newsprint. It said all sectors, with the exception of aluminium, have the potential to maintain or even increase profits when the EU ETS comes in next January. However, British Cement Association (BCA) director of external
affairs Martin Casey said the cement industry had not been consulted on the report and dismissed it as contradictory. He said people reading the report could be misled. "You could gain the impression that we had been consulted and were in some way supportive of the conclusions."
The BCA and the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) have both written to the Carbon Trust voicing their concerns. The European Emissions Trading Scheme: Implications for Industrial Competitiveness claims that raw materials firms will maintain profits with only a small rise in prices.
Steel and cement will have to raise prices by 1.5%, but energy-intensive aluminium smelters could see their profits fall by more than 30%. However, the report fails to take into account rising electricity costs and the Climate Change Levy. Casey said Professor Grubb presented his material in "glorious isolation" to other factors. The report presented contradictory findings on EU competition. It warned UK industry will be affected by "weak and inconsistent implementation" between different EU countries. However, it concluded EU competition could have a "marginal" effect on materials prices.
The Carbon Trust was unavailable for comment.
