Question reference: S5W-30849
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 21 July 2020
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Current status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 10 August 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has given to its departments and agencies on carbon-offsetting for domestic and international air travel, and whether, as a matter of policy, it regards carbon-offsetting as an acceptable action to counter all emissions caused by air travel.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not issued guidance to its agencies on offsetting air travel emissions.
Offsetting and the use of established carbon market mechanisms are one way of mobilising private finance towards much needed investment in natural assets such as forestry and peatland restoration.
The Scottish Government’s position on offsetting is that it can be an important means of mobilising private investment into projects as long as offsetting projects for carbon credits are in addition to action to reduce emissions, rather than instead of it. Any offsetting projects should also use credits verified according to the highest available standard (the Woodland Carbon Code and Peatland Code).
The following guidance is published on the Scottish Government’s internal intranet page:-
Carbon emissions levy
The carbon emissions levy aims to compensate for the carbon that our business travel generates. It raises funds that are put into projects that will remove the same amount of carbon from the atmosphere. Typical examples might be forestry or alternative power generation, either overseas or within Scotland.
The carbon emissions levy is applied to all journeys undertaken by air as follows:
Domestic – £5 per journey
European – £6 per journey
International – £15 per journey