The Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme, or CRC as it is commonly referred to, compels large energy users to make annual payments according to the amount of carbon emissions they make through energy use.

Original plans were to recycle most of the receipts, paying most of the money back to companies who had met certain energy efficiency targets. However, in the 2010 spending review, it was decided not to do this. In other words, CRC became another form of an energy tax.

The Climate Change Levy (CCL) is a tax charged on the electricity, gas, LPG, coal and coke used by businesses in the UK. However, some businesses that are in energy intensive sectors are able to apply for a discount. This discount is given in return for achieving agreed energy saving targets.

The Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) was introduced by the Government in response to a European Union directive on energy reporting. The aim of the scheme is to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by making it compulsory for large businesses to identify energy saving measures.

The Feed-in Tariff (FiT) is a government subsidy paid for renewable electricity generation and is a fixed payment per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity generated. The rate paid varies by technology and also by size of project, with small to medium scale installations receiving higher rates.

The technologies eligible for FiTs are wind, solar photovoltaics (PV), hydro, anaerobic digestion and domestic scale micro-CHP.

The tariff levels reduce by gradual amounts each year (in line with expected technology cost reductions). This is called 'degression'.