Only four of the current 59 schemes available to travellers who want to offset the carbon emissions of taking flights meet the government's standards for offsetting projects announced today.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has announced the new standards in a bid to clear up confusion among travellers who want to reduce their carbon footprint.

Environment Secretary David Miliband said: "Some emissions can’t or won’t be avoided. That’s where offsetting has a role to play. It’s a way of compensating for the emissions produced with an equivalent carbon saving."

“People need to be sure that the way they offset is actually making a difference. The Government’s standard and code of practice, with a quality mark so people can check easily before they choose an offsetting product, will help to provide that certainty. Ultimately, this is about providing certainty for consumers in an emerging environmental market.”

Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander said: “This new voluntary standard will not only bring clarity for those who are already offsetting - it will also encourage many more to consider how they can lighten the footprint they leave on the planet.”

The four schemes named as meeting the new standards are PURE the Clean Planet Trust, Global Cool, Equiclimate and Carbon Offsets Ltd.

The purpose of the schemes is to enable air travellers to calculate the emissions of taking flights, then purchase equivalent credits from these emission reduction projects, which will in turn reduce the emission of an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide elsewhere on the planet.

The Government’s new standard is based on the use of certified credits from the established Kyoto market, through sources such as the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). These credits are backed by an international framework and institutions to ensure that real emission reductions take place, as well as providing a clear audit trail.

Travel companies that have offsetting schemes, including First Choice Holidays and lastminute.com, have undertaken to meet the standard by the end of the year.

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