I have a question that you have not anwered We have created these FAQs based on hundreds of conversations and enquiries over the years. However, we realise we might not have answered all your questions. Expand We’d love to hear from you, so please get in touch if there is something in particular you’d like to discuss with us at [email protected].
What about international agreements and aviation? Aviation was included in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) in 2013. What does it mean? Expand In simple terms, it means that from 2013 there is a cap on how much the EU aviation industry can emit and the aviation operators will have to keep their emissions within this limit or pay extra. This is an important step of course, but does it result in any emission offsetting? Not really. It is rather limiting the growth of the sector’s emissions. Unless your aviation operator explicitly offered you to purchase carbon offsets while booking your flights or in any other way clearly indicated that the emissions of your flights were offset, most probably these emissions were left for you to take care of. Looking at the international aviation measures, the most important one is Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, or CORSIA adopted in 2016. It is a global scheme which will cap global aviation emissions at the level of 2020 and will require all aviation operators from the countries who are parties to this agreement to measure their emissions and purchase carbon offsets to neutralise the emission growth compared to 2020. While the scheme will become operational from 2021, the pilot phase will run until 2026 with the participation of the volunteered countries, after which participation will become mandatory.Whereas this measure indeed can have effect on neutralising individual travellers’ carbon footprint, there are a few things to keep in mind: It will only come into force in 2021 The participation will be voluntary until 2027 It only applies to the emission increase from 2020 level, leaving 2020 level of carbon emissions not offset Not all major aviation countries agreed to participate in the deal as of July 2017 (e.g. Russia, India) Based on this, there is still a certain period of time until CORSIA will become operational and by far not all emissions will be offset.
Can you offset with UK projects? No. Whilst you can support carbon reducing projects in the UK, you can’t count these towards your carbon neutral status. Expand The reason for this dates back to the Kyoto Protocol and the understanding that countries such as the UK that now have the Climate Change Act are mandated to reduce emissions. As such voluntary carbon credits being generated are not seen as additional. In short, more developed countries can buy credits generated in developing or emerging markets. But we do provide a UK dimension. You can support home grown carbon reducing projects through our Home & Abroad programme. We launched this with Simmons & Simmons and a case study is available here.
Voluntary vs Mandatory What is the difference between voluntary and mandatory carbon offset schemes? Expand Regulated, mandatory or compliance carbon offset schemes are regional, national or international regimes, typically backed up with legislation. The most comprehensive and largest of these is the European Emissions Trading Scheme. Organisations falling into these schemes include heavy emitters such as cement manufacturers and coal fired power stations. Credits generated under these schemes are called Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). Voluntary carbon offset markets enable organisations and individuals to offset their emissions by purchasing offsets that were created either through the Clean Development Mechanism (a UN led initiative born out of the Kyoto Protocol) or in the voluntary market. Voluntary credits help to serve micro projects that are too small to warrant the administrative burden or not covered under compliance schemes. Credits generated under these schemes are called Voluntary Emission Reductions (VERs). Pure Leapfrog helps organisations and individuals to reduce carbon footprints by supporting communities to develop carbon reducing projects through the voluntary market.
Is there a social dimension to carbon offsetting? At Pure Leapfrog, we seek out projects that also create a social impact. Expand That is why when we launched in 2006 we did this with Gold Standard credits. Since 2006 we have also included other accreditations in our portfolio such as Social Carbon credits. We favour projects which require a strong social element to the process of carbon credit generation as well as including biodiversity, financial, human and natural components
What about a 100% renewable energy tariff? Energy suppliers can provide you with low carbon, clean and 100% renewable tariffs. Expand Whilst they are not all the same, signing up to such a tariff can be a good signal to the market and can often support the development of new renewable energy generation. However, for the purposes of calculating your carbon footprint, the UK Government considers all energy tariffs the same. Physically the wires that transmit the energy to you do not distinguish between organically grown renewable electrons from dirty fossil fuel generated ones. In order to consider yourself carbon neutral we would encourage you to include energy consumption as part of your footprint irrespective of what tariff you are on.