Friday 3 April 2020

‘UK Government must establish a national office for carbon removal’

The UK Government should open a national 'office for carbon removal' to ensure offsets purchased by businesses in the drive for compliance with its net zero target 'are genuinely robust, measurable and benefit the environment'.

That's the suggestion from think tank Green Alliance, which states: "Existing carbon offset schemes have been widely criticised for their poor environmental credentials and 73% of credits created under the current biggest carbon offsetting scheme, the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism, are unlikely to lead to real additional carbon reductions or removals."

Its report highlights the importance of a national ‘office for carbon removal’ and notes well-run offset schemes could provide the UK with a 'huge' new source of funding for nature restoration as airlines increasingly purchase carbon credits - the aviation sector is expected to spend between £4 billion and £18 billion per year on carbon credits globally by 2035.

James Elliott, Policy Adviser at Green Alliance, said: “Offsetting has become a dirty word for environmentalists because of bad carbon credit schemes and the risk it will be used as an excuse to keep polluting.

"But when you look at the numbers it’s obvious we have to remove and store a huge amount of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere if we are to reach net zero and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Boosting tree planting and low carbon farming, alongside developing other carbon removal technologies, like bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, is an urgent priority.

"Our proposals would enable the UK to take advantage of a substantial new funding stream for nature via aviation offsetting, while showing the world how these schemes can be done well.”