Government publishes personal carbon trading study

News Article - 09 May 2008
Category: Environment

The government has published the results of a new study into personal carbon trading that explores new ways of encouraging individuals to take action to tackle global warming.

According to the evaluation, personal carbon trading "has potential to engage individuals in taking action to combat climate change".

However, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) reports that the scheme is "essentially ahead of its time", with high expected costs for implementation.

The government states that it remains committed to the concept of personal carbon trading and will monitor research being carried out in the field.

Personal carbon trading may be introduced by Defra if the value of carbon savings and cost implications change, with individuals issued with a number of carbon credits, which can then be traded with others.

Reducing carbon footprints is becoming increasingly important to British businesses and carbonaccounting software can help firms to assess and reduce their impact on the environment.

Retail giant Tesco recently launched new carbon labelling for 20 of its products as part of scheme to give consumers more choice and information about the environmental impact of the items they purchase.

Article keywords:

---

More industry news

• Think tank warns UK may have already slipped back into recession
• Growing demand for HR staff in technology and international sectors
• Boosting business growth a ‘priority’ to avoid Eurozone slowdown
• HMRC launches alternative disputes pilot scheme this week
• December employment statistics disregard gloomy recruitment predictions
• Eurozone manufacturing PMI shows modest improvement
• UK scores highly for economic governance by ratings agency
• Government launches two-year project focusing on manufacturing sector
• Burden of regulation on UK businesses ‘too high’

Back to news home page »