Climate Change Agreements: consultation on a new scheme

Overview

The Climate Change Agreement (CCA) scheme is a voluntary scheme that encourages businesses in a wide range of industrial sectors with energy-intensive processes to invest in energy efficiency measures in return for access to reduced rates of Climate Change Levy (CCL). It directly supports an energy efficient, low-carbon future whilst also helping industrial competitiveness.

We are taking forward a new CCA scheme which will not be an extension to the existing scheme, but a separate and new scheme, building on the fundamental aspects of the existing scheme. This will require new agreements to be in place with sectors and operators, and new targets to be met.

It will be developed using the existing scheme as a foundation, with many fundamental aspects of the scheme remaining the same. It will continue to provide reduced rates of CCL for those that meet their obligations in the scheme, with certification periods for these reduced rates following on from Target Periods. The scheme will continue to be administered throughout the UK by the Environment Agency.

In this consultation, we set out our proposals for the new scheme to seek views and give a forward view of what the scheme will require from industry, with the aim of having the new scheme in place and operating by Q1 2025. The proposals for a new CCA scheme set out in this consultation build on responses to the consultations published in December 2021 and March 2023.

You can read the consultation on the GOV.UK page.