The sun begins to set on guilt-free
governmental jetsetting.
Photograph: Corbis
The environment department is today placing itself among that growing band of conscientious jetsetters attempting to lessen their carbon footprints and/or associated guilt. Defra has become the first department to jump aboard a carbon offsetting scheme, which, according to its press release, "will calculate the carbon dioxide emissions created by official air travel". To pay for its environmental sins, the department will be required to buy credits, the money going to a "Government Carbon Offsetting Fund" which has been set up to fuel renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects.
The Pan Government Travel Contract applies to five departments in total and sets out to keep tabs on all their travel - "air, rail, vehicle hire, hotels and conferences", both at home and abroad, for three years. The first factors facing the carbon calculators as of today are Defra's air and rail travel.
There is no doubt that carbon emissions, especially from air travel, is a growing problem and Environment Minister Elliot Morley may well be pleased at having made his announcement today. But the news throws up a couple of questions. The effectiveness and even the detrimental effects of carbon offsetting have been discussed in this publication. There's the opinion that carbon offsetting is just serving to shift the focus away from reducing emissions, and even news of negative environmental knock-on effects of such schemes. My questions are: are you offsetting your carbon emissions and if so, why? Or if not, why not?
