Stakeholder newsletter - Climate Change Bill and the RTFO

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Further to my letter of 29 October I am writing to inform you that the Government has today published the Climate Change Bill following its Introduction in the House of Lords yesterday. The full text of the Bill together with the Explanatory Notes and Impact Assessment (PDF) are available online (see Annex A).

I explained in my earlier letter how there are a number of provisions in this Bill which are designed to allow for the more effective implementation of the RTFO over the longer term. These are designed to enhance the scheme and provide flexibility in the future but they are not critical to its immediate delivery. In addition to the provisions I informed you of in my earlier letter, the Bill will also contain a number of other provisions.  These do not have an immediate impact on the RTFO Order which was made on 25 October. The additional provisions are also intended to enhance the scheme and give us longer term flexibility.  The main additional provisions are:

  • To enable the appointment of a new Administrator of the RTFO scheme.
    The new Administrator could be the Secretary of State (who could act through the Department for Transport or one of its agencies) or an existing statutory body or a new body corporate. Such a change would require an order to be made.
  • To provide the option of removing the buy out fund recycling mechanism.
    This power might be used in the unlikely event that recycling had a negative effect upon the Government’s objective of encouraging the supply of renewable fuel. This would require a new order and consultation with stakeholders. 

The Government has no current intention of making any immediate use of these powers. 

Rupert Furness
RTFO Programme Director