Published: 06 April 2006
Green Travel
Environment Minister Elliot Morley has urged holidaymakers planning to travel abroad at Easter to reduce their effect on the environment.
Mr Morley made the appeal to coincide with the start of the Government's own voluntary scheme to offset carbon emissions arising from official flights.
Money contributed by Government Departments under this offsetting initiative will purchase emissions reductions generated by renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, which reduce carbon emissions in developing countries.
The central feature of the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF) will be a portfolio of projects under the Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which will deliver the required emission reductions.
Mr Morley also welcomed a new UK travel industry initiative to cut its carbon emissions.
The Travel Foundation is setting up new carbon emission reduction programmes designed to reduce the "carbon footprint" of British holidaymakers in destinations worldwide by means of initiatives such as low energy technology in hotels, better insulation and the use of low carbon tourist vehicles.
The Travel Foundation is a sustainable tourism charity, working with and supported by the UK outbound travel industry, and dedicated to promoting sustainability in tourism to the benefit of disadvantaged communities in destinations, and to the environment.
Its formation was hailed by the Prime Minister as "a world-leading act of co-operation which will enable British travellers to make a difference to millions of lives around the globe".
Examples include:
· pilot programmes in Cyprus, Turkey and the Azores on reducing the environmental impacts of tourist accommodation
· projects promoting the supply of locally-grown produce by farmers in the Caribbean to international tourist hotels
· the distribution of "Insider Guide" leaflets to British tourists through high street travel agencies, explaining how travellers can make a difference themselves.
Holidaymakers can support the work of the Travel Foundation by:
· making a donation when they book with operators including First Choice Holidays, Thomas Cook, and Sunvil
· visiting thetravelfoundation.org.uk
· texting the word "donate" to 61199.
The carbon offsetting initiative is complemented by a new Civil Service Travel Group, which will facilitate best practice guidance and generate ideas that develop & deliver sustainable travel policies for Government as a whole.
The new initiative, starting initially with Defra, is aimed at reducing the environmental consequences of official travel, including their carbon emissions.
Material will be made available to officials, which will allow them to make more sustainable travel choices.
Mr Morley said:
"The government takes seriously the impact of its own activities on the environment and I am pleased our offsetting scheme is now coming into force; also that government as a whole is working to develop more sustainable travel policies.
I also very warmly welcome the Travel Foundation's initiative, which builds on some excellent sustainability work they have been doing in resorts overseas.
In the past, tourists have not fully recognised the environmental damage they can cause, particularly when travelling abroad. By donating to the Travel Foundation, and also by offsetting their flights, they can return something to benefit the environment.
With growing prosperity, we need and want to travel more. Our job is to enable people to travel whilst at the same time meeting our environmental obligations; individuals can play their part by offsetting their air flights, from which emissions are rising."
Dermot Blastland, Managing Director of the Mainstream Holidays Sector of First Choice PLC and a trustee of the Travel Foundation, said:
"First Choice is committed to working to reduce the environmental impacts of all our activities, and our support for the valuable work being done by the Travel Foundation is a key part of our focus on sustainability.
We are delighted that most of our customers choose to make a donation to the foundation.
The partnership between the UK travel industry and the Travel Foundation, with the Government's welcome encouragement, is still unique in the world, and we are pleased to be at the forefront of work towards making sustainability a fundamental part of travel."
The Government's carbon offsetting scheme will calculate the carbon dioxide emissions created by official air travel. Credits will then be purchased, via a central fund, from projects, which prevent or remove an equivalent amount of emissions from the atmosphere.
Under the initiative a Pan Government Travel Contract will include a range of sustainability criteria and will cover all travel requirements (air, rail, vehicle hire, hotels and conferences in a domestic, European and international context).
Defra initiated the contract on the 3rd April, starting with air & rail. Other government departments will join the framework from June onwards.
The focus of the projects will be renewable energy and energy efficiency, with high sustainable development benefits. The portfolio will initially offset the total estimated emissions of participating departments and agencies for a period of three years, from April 06 to April 09.
The tender for a fund manager to run the GCOF will be launched in April.
Further information
The Travel Foundation
Climate change: Carbon offsetting
Sustainable Environment Action Plan
Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Watch
UN CDM website
Defra - CDM
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