Carbon offsetting: Government emissions
UK Government Carbon Offsetting Fund
The UK has developed a Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF) to meet the commitment to offset emissions arising from official and ministerial air travel from April 2006. This commitment was made by the Prime Minister as part of the wider UK Sustainable Development Strategy, which was launched in March 2005.
The GCOF has been developed through an Inter-Departmental Working Group and is available for all central Government departments to offset emissions from official and ministerial air travel in a simple and cost effective manner that will also ensure high environmental integrity. On 28 December 2006 it was announced that EEA Fund Management had won the contract to become the GCOF manager, facilitating the purchase of CERs from Trading Emissions PLC.
The central feature of the GCOF is a portfolio of projects under the Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which will deliver up to 305,000 tonnes of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).
The portfolio will offset the total estimated emissions of participating departments and agencies for a period of three years, from April 2006 to April 2009. The fund is flexible enough to allow for additional and unforeseen offsetting requirements.
While most departments participate in the GCOF, others are running their own offsetting schemes.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Sustainable Development Strategy was published in March 2005. It sets out what the FCO will do to promote the international aims of the UK Sustainable Development Strategy, Securing the Future. It includes a commitment to offset the carbon emissions from official air travel by the FCO's UK based staff and Ministers, starting in 2005/6, which is being delivered through an offsetting scheme that REEEP (the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership) is managing on behalf of the FCO.
FCO now offsets more than 38,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and other high-altitude emissions generated by the air travel of ministers and staff in the UK. Through REEEP, the FCO has so far invested £200,000 in carbon credits.
REEEP contracted CO2e.com to purchase high-quality CERs from a wind-farm development in S. Africa, Genesis Eco-Energy. The main objective of the project is to generate power from non-polluting sources.
GCOF portfolio
The Portfolio of projects consists of selected project types from within the CDM, focusing on those which are small-scale, involve renewable energy and/or energy efficiency, and have additional sustainable development benefits. Each CER purchased through the GCOF will be cancelled to remove it from the market and ensure integrity. Specific projects chosen so far are listed below. As more projects come through the pipeline we will update the portfolio details. Please click on the title for further details of the projects posted on the UNFCCC website, those without links have not yet been submitted for validation. These will be updated in due course.
The projects
Hacienda Bio Energy Project Bundle
Average Annual Emission Reductions: >100,000 t CO2e from more than 20 projects
Location: Philippines
The bundle consists of more than twenty wastewater treatment projects, located at a variety of farms across the Philippines. The projects install systems to collect the biogas emitted from the anaerobic breakdown of farm waste water. Eight projects are already in operation and a further seven are being commissioned. The biogas generates electricity on site at the farm, offsetting a significant proportion of the grid fed electricity currently used at the site. The projects also improve the management of the farm waste water, and reduce the organic content. This benefits the local neighbourhoods and workers by reducing local water pollution and odour that has been significant local issue.
Kalasin Wastewater Treatment to Energy
Average Annual Emission Reductions: 39,824t CO2e
Location: Thailand
This project treats the waste water at the facility of Siam Products Co. Ltd. in Kalasin, Thailand. The Project implements an alternative waste management process, using anaerobic digestion to reduce organic content in a controlled environment, mitigating methane emissions to the atmosphere. The biogas produced is burnt to produce heat, avoiding the use of fuel oil currently used to dry starch cake to the final dry starch product. Biogas is also used to power an electricity generating plant of 1MW for use on-site, offsetting a significant proportion of the grid fed electricity currently used at the site.
La Suerte Rice Husk Cogeneration Project
Average Annual Emission Reductions: 4,726t CO2e
Location: Philippines
The La Suerte Rice Mill Rice Husk Cogeneration Project, located in the Philippines, uses the mill’s by-product rice husks as fuel for generating heat for grain drying and electricity for in-house use, replacing diesel and kerosene, and mitigating the emissions that were associated with them. The waste rice husks were a significant local environmental problem as it is common practice in the region to dump waste and allow it to rot or burn in fields. At full capacity he project will utilise 3.5tonnes of rice husks per hour, or around 20,000 tonnes per year. It is a milestone project in the Philippines being the first local project to utilise rice husks for cogeneration.
Makati South Sewage Treatment Plant Upgrade with On-Site Power
Average Annual Emission Reductions: 28,729t CO2e
Location: Philippines
This is a sludge treatment project at the sewage plant located in Magallanes Village, Makati City, Philippines. The anaerobic digestion of sludge produces biogas that is collected and used to generate electricity for use on-site, offsetting a significant proportion of the grid fed electricity currently used. Any electricity produced which exceeds the demand of the site will be delivered to Magallanes Village, the immediate community. The project is the first formal sewage treatment facility in the Philippines.
Swine Waste to Energy Bundle
ADSW TH01
ADSW TH02
ADSW TH03
Average Annual Emission Reductions: 46,319 t CO2e
Location: Thailand
Thai pig farms employ a scraping and hose-down waste cleaning process from pens, transferring waste to a series of open-pit lagoons. Such lagoon-based treatment is standard practice in the South East Asian region. The projects install systems to collect the biogas emitted from the anaerobic breakdown of farm waste water. This biogas is used to generate electricity on site at the farm, offsetting a significant proportion of the grid fed electricity currently used. The project also benefits the surrounding neighbourhoods by reducing local water pollution and odour that are significant local issues.
Horizonte Wind Power Generation Project
Average Annual Emission Reductions: 6,227 t CO2e
Location: Brazil
The Horizonte project became operational and started generating electricity in 2004. The wind farm consists of 8 turbines of 600kW each for a total generation capacity of 4.8 MW. The project will reduce GHG emissions by substitution of energy from fossil fuel power plants as it generates electricity with clean wind energy. Energy from the plant is sold to the Brazilian South-Southeast-Midwest Grid.
Gansu Zhouqu Shimenping 15MW Hydropower Station Project
Average Annual Emission Reductions: 66,817 t CO2e
Location: China
The Gansu Zhouqu Shimenping Project is a small hydropower plant using water from the Bailong River in Zhouqu County in China. This project generates clean electricity, reducing reliance on fossil fuel power generation as well as creating job opportunities to the local community.
Cucaú Bagasse Cogeneration Project (CBCP)
Average Annual Emission Reductions: 2,082 t CO2e
Location: Brazil
This project increases the energy efficiency of bagasse cogeneration at Cucaú sugar mill through the installation of more efficient boilers. The project also allows the mill to increase the steam efficiency in the sugar and alcohol production processes. Cucaú is thus able to generate surplus steam and use it exclusively for electricity production. This electricity is then sold into the national grid, avoiding the dispatch of the same amount of energy generated from fossil fuel-fired thermal plants.
Sri Balaji 6 MW Non-Conventional Renewable Sources Biomass Power Project
Average Annual Emission Reductions: 28,590t
CO2e
Location: India
The project installed a 6MW biomass-fired power plant, that utilises surplus biomass waste residues usually burnt in the local area. The electricity generated by the project is sold to the grid, reducing reliance on fossil fuel power generation as well as creating benefits and job opportunities to the local community. The project reduce local pollution by avoiding uncontrolled burning of waste in the fields.
Vietnam Tapioca Cassava Starch Wastewater to Energy
Average Annual Emission Reductions: 24,000t CO2e
Location: Vietnam
This project will treat wastewater at a tapioca starch facility through a controlled anaerobic digestion processes. Biogas emitted from this breakdown will be collected and delivered to the starch facility as a substitute for its consumption of low sulphur fuel oil . Reducing the emissions normally associated with the industrial process, the facility will become almost a 100% self sufficient in heating energy.
Tauy Nihn Wastewater to Energy
Average Annual Emissions : 24,000 t CO2e
Location: Vietnam
This project will treat wastewater at a tapioca starch facility through a controlled anaerobic digestion processes. Biogas emitted from this breakdown will be collected and delivered to the starch facility as a substitute for its consumption of low sulphur fuel oil. Reducing the emissions normally associated with the industrial process, the facility will become almost a 100% self sufficient in heating energy.
The membership list and emissions data
Below is the comprehensive list of GCOF members, their emission figures and what activities they have offset through the fund.
| Participant | CO2e | Emission Source |
|---|---|---|
| Dept for International Development DfID | 17733.76 | Air Travel, undertaken by officials stationed both in the UK and abroad |
| Ministry of Defence MoD | 18223.95 | Air Travel |
| Red Arrows | 3700.00 | Displays and Training |
| Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs HMRC | 7278.00 | Air Travel |
| Valuation Office Agency VOA | 83.00 | Air Travel |
| Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform BERR | 4469.66 | Air Travel |
| Home Office HO | 3934.74 | Air Travel |
| Dept for Work and Pensions DWP | 3818.94 | Air Travel |
| Her Majesty’s Treasury HMT | 1487.05 | Air Travel |
| Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Defra | 6055.91 | Air Travel 05/06 & 06/07; Rail and 06/07 |
| Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science CEFAS | 192.20 | Air Travel |
| Dept for Culture, Media and Sport DCMS | 214.06 | Air Travel |
| Dept of Health DH | 917.62 | Air Travel |
| Cabinet Office (including No. 10) | 32326.93 | Air Travel (05/06 & 06/07) |
| Dept for Transport DfT | 1356.73 | Air Travel |
| The Royal Household RH | 5500.00 | Air Travel – (Includes all forms of air travel - inc helicopters) |
| Government Car and Despatch Agency GCDA | 2283.18 | Road travel only |
| Dept for Communities and Local Government DCLG | 232.93 | Air Travel |
| Dept for Children Schools and Families DCSF | 467.78 | Air Travel |
| Crown Prosecution Service CPS (LOD) | 203.44 | Air Travel |
| Serious Fraud Office SFO (LOD) | 327.13 | Air Travel |
| Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office RCPO (LOD) | 29.59 | Air Travel |
| Attorney General’s Office AGO (LOD) | 14.56 | Air Travel |
| HM CPS Inspectorate HMCPSI (LOD) | 8.11 | Air Travel |
| Treasury Solicitors Tsol (LOD) | 31.84 | Air Travel |
| Northern Ireland Office NIO | 1148.79 | Air Travel |
| Ministry of Justice MOJ | 61.22 | Air Travel |
| Export Credits Guarantee Department ECGD | 189.50 | Air Travel |
| House of Commons Parl HC | 2626.19 | Air Travel |
| British American Parliamentary Group BAPG | 20.80 | Air Travel |
| House of Lords Parl HL | 452.66 | Air Travel |
| The Rent Service TRS | 14.46 | Air Travel |
| Greater London Authority GLA | 267.28 | Air Travel |
| Metropolitan Police Service MPS | 7079.60 | Air Travel |
| Transport for London TfL | 680.78 | Air Travel |
| London Development Agency LDA | 76.73 | Air Travel |
| Sustainable Development Commission SDC | 302.30 | Air Travel, rail / road and operations, 05/06 & 06/07 |
For all carbon offsetting enquiries, please email carbonoffsetting@defra.gsi.gov.uk.
Page last modified: 8 November 2007
Page published: 03 October, 2005