Green Police Ready to Patrol the United Kingdom

According to an article on Times Online, The Environment Agency announced plans to set up a special squad of police unofficially named the “green police” to combat excessive CO2 emissions. Like similar special squads in New York City and India, the British Green Police will have the power to enforce environmental laws through search warrants and fines.

The green police will be a unit of fifty auditors and inspectors. The main focus will be the enforcement of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), which goes into effect this year. The green police officers will literally have green jackets, and will have the power to search company property, inspect power meters, and investigate electricity and gas bills, and track carbon-trading records for businesses across the UK.

Ed Mitchell, head of business performance and regulation at the Environmental Agency, said the green police will be an effective way to curb emissions. “Climate change and CO2 are the world’s biggest issues right now. The Carbon Reduction Commitment is one of the ways in which Britain is responding,” Mitchell said.

The launch of the green police reflects changing attitudes toward climate change in the UK. In the past, politicians have been reluctant to enforce environmental regulations and place new taxes to lower CO2 emissions, especially in the wake of the fuel tax protests of 2000 when truck drivers blockaded refineries.

The central unit of the green police, based in Warrington, Cheshire, can call on the Environmental Agency’s national network of hundreds of pollution inspectors, many of whom will soon be trained in CO2 monitoring. The green police will also be able to demand energy bills from utilities without having to inform the companies that they are being monitored. If that’s not enough, the green police will also publish an annual league table ranking companies by their performance in cutting emissions. The intent is to “shame” companies into better energy efficiency.

Mitchell said the green police will audit about 1,200 businesses a year. The first stage would be a desk study of the companies’ energy bills and activities, followed by a visit by the green police if there are any irregularities. Mitchell said the green police inspectors will have warrant cards that will give them the right to enter businesses and collect evidence, including access to company account suppliers.

The CRC was put into law to make medium-size and large companies increase their energy efficiency. John Sauven, director of Greenpeace, said: “We must be able to enforce these new rules. We saw how the absence of enforcement led to chaos with the new rules on energy efficiency in building standards.” With the Green Police on the job, environmental violators will learn the new meaning of “Crime Doesn’t Pay.”

Article Source: Environment Agency sets up green police (Times Online)

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