25th January 2007
by ecofriendlytourist.com
Carbon offsetting code “clear as mud”
The UK government’s proposed carbon offsetting code has been slammed by a new eco-travel website. ecofriendlytourist.com warned that, far from helping consumers, it is likely to leave them even more confused instead.
Environment Secretary David Miliband launched a public consultation on the new voluntary code, a “gold standard” for carbon offsetting, on 18th January aiming to introduce it next autumn.
Offsetting allows people to help repair the damage caused by their carbon emissions by funding projects that reduce CO2. There are around sixty providers in the UK and it is estimated over a million people have used them. Yet this fast growing market is unregulated and the new code is intended to clean it up and make offsetting clearer for consumers.
Transparent pricing is among the key elements it highlights. Ecofriendlytourist.com surveyed the first four organisations that the government says already meet its new standard to find out how easy their services are to use. It asked how much each would charge to offset a return flight for one passenger from London to New York, with drastically different results. They failed to agree on the size of the carbon emissions or on the cost to offset them.
At one extreme was Pure – the Clean Planet Trust which quoted £21 on its website’s calculator to offset 1.5 tonnes of CO2 for the trip, while Carbon Offsets Ltd quoted £8.22 for 1.17 tonnes. To add to the confusion a third provider, Equiclimate, said the carbon emissions would be 1.395 tons and suggested offsetting twenty per cent of these in line with Department of Transport recommendations at a cost of £1.74. A calculator was not to be found on the website of the fourth organisation, Global Cool, but this offers “tonnes of cool” instead at a cost of £20 each.
“Passengers want plain answers to straight questions,” says ecofriendlytourist.com. “How much CO2 am I responsible for? What is a fair price to offset it? Which provider should I choose? And where will the money go?
“While it’s well known that carbon offsetting calculations are highly technical and based on differing assumptions, these results are bound to baffle consumers. If they are typical the new code will be clear as mud.”
In another broadside the ecotourism website pointed out that of 135 organisations consulted on the draft code only one represented consumers, giving rise to yet another question: “Who is this code for?”
ENDS
NOTES FOR EDITORS
The survey was conducted on 25th January 2007.
www.ecofriendlytourist.com was set up in December 2006 offering a user-friendly guide for green travelers. It is based in London and its content is based on journalistic research.
For further information please contact: webmaster@ecofriendlytourist.com
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