Press release 22 November 2007
Ministry of the Environment

Government adopts carbon offsetting for air travel

The Swedish Government is introducing carbon offsetting for ministerial international air travel. The emissions produced by air travel will be offset by supporting projects in developing countries that result in equivalent emission reductions.
Carbon offsetting will be limited for the time being to predetermined international travel, for example travel to and from conferences. Guidelines on what travel will be subject to carbon offsetting are now being drawn up by the Swedish Government Offices. Special funds have been earmarked for this purpose in the 2008 budget.
"We will offset emissions from our air travel by building up environmental technology in developing countries that result in emission reductions that otherwise would not have been made," says the Minister of the Environment, Andreas Carlgren. "The projects lead to emission reductions that would not have been made without offsetting," says Carlgren.
Carbon offsetting is done by purchasing CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) certificates. CDM projects are subject to quality control by the UN's CDM Executive Board. The Swedish Energy Agency will act as intermediary, and may also take responsibility for further quality control in each individual case.
The Government is also considering introducing guidance for members of the business community and the general public who wish to voluntarily offset their emissions from car journeys and air travel, for example, so that the offsetting is transferred to the certificates monitored under the UN system.
"The Government Offices' carbon offsetting is one way of showing that anyone who wishes to do something about the emissions caused by their travel can do so safely. There are monitored projects, and there is no need to risk dealing with climate cheats," says the Minister.

Background

Carbon offsetting makes use of the provisions that exist in the Kyoto Protocol system for cost-effective emission reductions. In the case of air travel, for example, the traveller can purchase a certificate for emission-reducing measures in some other sector and in a completely different country. This is effective because all reductions are of equal value in relation to reduced climate impact.