Water UK

Carbon and the water industry - running to stand still

05/06/09

The industry has set out an aim to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in line with the Climate Change Act. Companies are implementing a twin-track programme:

 •  to supply, treat and use water more efficiently, and
 •  to achieve a step-change increase in the amount of renewable energy they generate.

This is working. The industry now uses 10% less energy to supply 1 megalitre of water or treat 1 megalitre of wastewater than it did only five years ago. Looking forward, emissions should fall by over 10% by 2015.

Yet these efforts look like coming to nothing.

Annual GHG emissions - around 5 million tonnes CO2 equivalent - are in fact predicted to remain stable to 2015 as other factors increase emissions by an equivalent 10%.

The main obstacles are the rules for generating and reporting renewable energy, and regulation requiring companies to improve water and wastewater treatment using energy-intensive processes.

Pamela Taylor, Chief Executive said:

"The water industry is committed to playing its part in a low-carbon future. There are many opportunities for achieving sustainable improvements in the water environment at lower cost and with lower GHG emissions. But we are stuck in an old regulatory mindset which leads to traditional energy-hungry treatment.

"Today we are publishing a new briefing (summary below) which looks at measures needed to achieve a low-carbon water industry by removing the barriers to progress. With UK Climate Projections later this month expected to show even greater pressure on the water environment, the industry must be able to do everything feasible to mitigate and adapt to climate change."

Ends

For more information please contact:

Water UK Communication
020 7344 1809 (out of hours 07833 450544)

Briefing summary

Industry action underway or planned to reduce emissions

 • Robust and standard approaches to measuring and reporting GHG emissions
 • More efficient use of energy – the industry now uses about 10% less energy to supply 1 megalitre of water or treat 1 megalitre of sewage than just 5 or 6 years ago. The Carbon Reduction Commitment will help to maintain focus on this area
 • Demand Management – the industry set up Waterwise and has significant programmes planned for leakage management, metering and water efficiency
 • Catchment management – over 100 schemes are proposed in the next few years to tackle pollution at source and reduce energy intensive end-of-pipe treatment
 • Further investment in renewable energy generation, which already accounts for around 7% of the industry’s total energy needs

Together, these measures are expected to reduce the industry’s GHG emissions by over 10% by 2015.

Factors pulling in the opposite direction

However, other factors mean that emissions are likely to increase by an equivalent amount. These include:

 • Requirements to treat water and wastewater to meet enhanced environmental and drinking water standards
 • Changes to national carbon accounting rules, which mean that renewable energy generated cannot be used to reduce emissions
 • Growth to supply and service new or extended developments, as well as growth in per capita consumption of water
 • Maintenance and resilience of existing assets and networks

What should happen now

Water UK’s new briefing paper on climate change mitigation sets out measures needed to achieve a low carbon water industry, including:

 • National accounting rules that take account of effort to reduce emissions through renewable energy generation
 • Integrated catchment management and a regulatory framework that takes full account of emissions in setting environmental permits and consents, and effectively tackles pollution at source
 • Taking account of impacts on emissions when developing legislation
 • Active regulatory support for renewable energy where there is synergy with water company statutory duties
 • Re-banding of renewable energy certificates to provide appropriate support for anaerobic digestion from sewage sludge
 • A shared commitment to and progress on water efficiency

Notes

1. Water UK reports on GHG emissions in the annual Sustainability indicators report

2. Water companies in England and Wales included projected GHG emissions from 2010 to 2015 in Final Business Plans. These projections are based on assumptions and are subject to change (for example resulting from changes to national grid emissions factors) and the plans are subject to Ofwat determinations.

3. The Climate Change Act commits to 80% reductions in emissions (from 1990 baseline) by 2050. Defra’s national strategy for the water sector, Future Water, includes a vision for "a water industry contributing fully to the achievement of national emission reduction targets and maximising its potential for renewable energy use and generation". Ofwat's recent climate change policy statement states that "it is important that each company... take responsibility for its fair share of the UK carbon burden".