Offsetting Climate Effects of Flights on Behalf of the EEA

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Carbon Credits Selling of Indulgences or step
towards sustainability?
EEA Staff Seminar 5 September 2006,10 11.30
h Kongens Nytorv 28 Room 28.1.1
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Offsetting climate effects of flights on behalf
of the EEA

• Next steps for implementing a carbon credit
  scheme in the EEA

EMAS travel and accomodation project Burkhard
Huckestein
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What do Rock n Roll, football, and big business
have in common?

• List of carbon credit purchasers includes
• Rockbands like the Rolling Stones, Coldplay etc.
• Sports events like the FIFA Worldcup 2006
• World Bank and some private banks
• Big car and oil companies
• Corporate titans like Motorola, DuPont etc.
• Paramount Pictures
• Film stars, artists, politicians
• Policy like British Government

4
Carbon credits are a marketing gimmick, but

• they are environmentally useful if
• the provider of carbon credits is reliable
• the offsetting projects are useful
• the climate impacts are properly calculated
• there is an external monitoring of projects
• ...

5
This carbon offset scheme for travellers has
really taken off!
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Offsetting strategies of carbon credit providers

• Afforestation
• Eco-efficiency
• Renewable energy
• Emission rights (EU ETS)
• Clean Development Mechanism
• Strategy mix
• ...

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Designing a carbon credit scheme for the EEA
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Next steps for the EMAS travel team and the EEA

• Evaluate options for buying carbon credits
• Identify carbon credit providers
• Defining requirements for carbon credit schemes
• Call for tender among carbon credit providers
• Calculate climate effects of all EEA flights in
  2006
• Buy carbon offsets
• Communicate the EEA carbon credit policy to
  encourage followers

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• Evaluate options for buying carbon credits

• Buying allowances from the EU ETS
• EU bodies should apply to EU schemes
• - No environmental impact due to too many
  allowances in the first ETS trading period
  (until 2007)
• Buying carbon credits from a provider
• high probability of environmental benefits
• - administrative effort (call for tender, etc.)

Conclusion For 2006 and 2007 buying carbon
credits is the better option, if provider meet
environmental and administrative requirements
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• Identify carbon credit providers

• List of more than 20 provider of carbon offsets
• Atmosfair (Germany)
• Climate Care (UK)
• Carbon Fund
• Climate Friendly
• Greenseat
• My Climate
• The Carbon Neutral Company
• CO2 Balance
• ...

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• Defining requirements for carbon credit providers

• Environmental criteria
• Proper description of offsetting projects
• Additionality and perpetuality of carbon
  reduction
• Transparent scientific assessment of impacts
• Effective implementation and monitoring
• Administrative criteria
• Transparent accounting (e.g. Annual Financial
  statements)
• Low share of overhead costs
• Representative steering committee (incl. NGOs)
• Effective administration (incl. customers
  relation and marketing)

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• Call for tender among carbon credit providers

• Are the CO2-reductions of offsetting projects
  evaluated and monitored (e.g. CBA)?
• Are climate impacts beyond CO2 taken into
  account?
• Are there environmental side effects?
• Are there social and economic side effects?
• Are there enough projects?
• Where does the CO2-reduction occure (within or
  outside EU)?
• What is the price per CO2-equivalent?

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• Calculate climate effects of all EEA flights in
  2006

• Get a list of city pairs for flights by our
  travel agency
• Calculate CO2-emissions by average fuel
  consumption of aeroplanes
• Model average climate contribution beyond CO2
  (e.g. Radiative forcing)

• Buy carbon offsets

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• Communicate the EEA carbon credit policy

• Communicate our carbon credit scheme
• Make transparent our selection process
• Define and communicate quality standards for
  carbon offset projects
• Bring forward an eco-label for carbon offset
  provider

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Thank you for your attention!