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The Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF)
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Sustainable Development Commission
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The UK has developed a Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF) to offset emissions arising from official and ministerial air travel from April 2006.
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Overview
Some businesses and individuals already take measures to ‘offset’ the carbon impacts of their air travel. The UK made a commitment to offset emissions arising from official and ministerial air travel from April 2006. This commitment was made by the Prime Minister as part of the wider UK Sustainable Development Strategy, which was launched in March 2005.
To deliver this commitment, the UK has developed a Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF). Whilst recognising offsetting is no substitute for reducing emissions at source, this carbon offsetting initiative should be viewed as a complementary measure for mitigating unavoidable climate change emissions from aviation on a voluntary basis. It also works to raise awareness of the climate change impacts of activities both within government and also with the general public.
The Government Carbon Offsetting Fund is the first of its kind in the world. The Fund involves 37 participants across central government and the wider public sector and associated bodies, including the Royal Household and Transport for London. Though designed to cover air travel emissions it is flexible enough to include other transport, events and one-off requirements.
A two-year project, the GCOF has been developed through an Inter-Departmental Working Group and is available for all central government departments to offset emissions from official and ministerial air travel. This joint approach began with a self-assessment of air travel emissions, aided by advice from the Civil Service Travel Group and subsequently embedded in Pan-Government Travel Contracts, where Defra led on sustainability and carbon management contractual issues.
The fund developed a coordinated approach to investing in high standard robust offsetting projects that create emissions reductions of an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases at an alternate location. It had to ensure that departments could offset in a simple and cost effective manner that will also ensure high environmental integrity.Major barriers included maintaining a high standard for the credits purchased whilst still being able to meet the large quantity of credits the fund requires.
The GCOF consists of a flexible portfolio of projects, where it will purchase and cancel Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) from small-scale energy efficiency and renewable energy CDM projects with strong sustainable development benefits.
Using rice husks to generate heat and electricity in the Philippines, turning human sewage in Manila into clean electricity and creating power from pig waste are amongst the ways the government will offset emissions. The projects are located across the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, India, China and Brazil. They will help to cut emissions on site and ensure developing countries are not impoverished by carbon-cutting measures.
Operating from 2006 to 2009, the GCOF will offset around 305ktCO2e. It will cost around £3m; when put in comparison to £120m annual spend on air travel, it demonstrates good value for money for the tax payer, as well as Whitehall taking responsibility for its impact on the environment.
Looking to the future, the government has committed to a carbon neutral government office estate by 2012. Offsetting will play an integral part of this over the next few years and will provide an effective way for government to mitigate the effects of the remaining emissions from essential business practices. Furthermore, it aims to drive the procurement of sustainable services, products and buildings and show how the government can lead by example.
Key features
energy
environmental assessment
governance
Key data
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Links
For further information please see the GCOF webpage
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