Carbon scheme standards to be set in UK

The government is to tackle the lack of clear standards for carbon offsetting schemes.

With an increasing number of people offsetting their carbon emissions the government is seeking greater clarity by the development of a voluntary standard for offsetting.

Environment Secretary David Miliband said the standard and associated code of practice would raise the bar for the offsetting industry.

"Offsetting isn't the answer to climate change. The first step should always be to see how we can avoid and reduce emissions - through thinking about how we use energy in our homes and businesses, and the way we travel.

"However, some emissions can't or won't be avoided. That's where offsetting has a role to play. It's a way of compensating for the emissions produced with an equivalent carbon saving."

Mr Miliband said that consumers needed an assurance that when they offset their emissions, their money is spent on projects that have genuine carbon dioxide emission reductions.

Offsetting is a way of compensating for emissions produced with an equivalent carbon saving, lessening the impact of a consumer's actions.

Consumers can offset a particular activity, such as a flight; their emissions over a period of time, such as their annual car mileage; or across their entire lifestyle or business, including all of the gas and electricity they consume and their emissions from transport.

Carbon offsetting involves calculating emissions and the purchase of equivalent credits from emission reduction projects that have prevented or removed the emission of an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide elsewhere.

The government's standard would be based on the use of certified credits from the established Kyoto market, through sources such as the UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

(SP/EF)