Consultation outcome

Proposed updates to the Environment Agency’s enforcement and sanctions policy to include the Clean Heat Market Mechanism

• From: Environment Agency
• Published: 22 April 2025
• Last updated: 2 October 2025 — See all updates

This consultation has concluded

Read the full outcome

Proposed updates to include the Clean Heat Market Mechanism: summary of consultation responses

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Detail of outcome

As a result of the responses received, we have:

• published our updated enforcement and sanctions policy and the updated Annex 2 Climate change schemes – the Environment Agency’s approach to applying civil penalties
• made it clear when discretion cannot be applied
• included an example of a Clean Heat Market Mechanism penalty in the updated enforcement and sanctions policy

Detail of feedback received

We ran this consultation on our Citizen Space consultation website and on GOV.UK for 12 weeks, from 22 April to 15 July 2025.

The response document sets out:

• the questions that we asked in the consultation
• a summary of the responses we received following the consultation
• what we have done as the result of the consultation

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Original consultation

Summary

We want your views on the proposed changes to the Environment Agency’s enforcement and sanctions policy which is to include a new section to cover the Clean Heat Market Mechanism.

This consultation was held on another website.

This consultation ran from
12:01am on 22 April 2025 to 11:59pm on 15 July 2025

Consultation description

In November 2024, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero laid the Statutory Instrument (Clean Heat Market Mechanism Regulations 2025) which created the Clean Heat Market Mechanism.

The Environment Agency have been appointed as the Scheme Administrator for the Clean Heat Market Mechanism. As part of this role, we will be responsible for ensuring companies comply with their obligations under the scheme and take action where they do not. This will include applying criminal and civil penalties set out in the Statutory Instrument.

As the Clean Heat Market Mechanism is a new scheme, we will need to update Annex 2 of the enforcement and sanctions policy which sets out our approach to applying climate change civil penalties. For more information about the scheme see guidance on Clean Heat Market Mechanism: who it applies to, annual tasks.

We want your views on the following 2 aspects which are specific to the Clean Heat Market Mechanism, namely the:

• nature of the daily penalties and how these will be applied
• discretion applied to some penalties

Read the consultation document to see these proposals in full. The consultation is not considering any policy requirements as these have already been approved by Parliament.

Published 22 April 2025

Last updated 2 October 2025 + show all updates

1. 2 October 2025

   Added the consultation response document.

2. 22 April 2025

   First published.