UK Parliamentary committee calls for regulatory reform.

摘要

The UK government's Energy and Climate Change Committee, upon being charged with making recommendations to the Department for Energy and Climate Change, recendy reported its concern that the Britain's refining industry is in "decline" and recommended that steps be taken to try to reduce regulatory burdens on the sector. Calling for a "level playing field," Committee chairman Sir Robert Smith voiced worries over jet fuel imports that account for 56% of the country's supply, and noted that domestic production was far from equal to demand, "especially for diesel." Recognizing the necessity of regulating the industry's effect on human health and the environment, Smith argued that efforts should be made to make the sector as competitive as possible in order to guarantee the country's energy security. The report noted that "The scale of legislative and regulatory burdens on the industry may undermine long term sustainability," and drew attention to such measures as the transportation duty regime, which has been said to have disadvantaged UK refiners against foreign competition.