Carbon offsetting

Many carbon offsetting schemes are deeply unsatisfactory but the public should still be encouraged to use them, an influential group of MPs has said.

The environmental audit committee also criticised airlines for an "unsatisfactory" attitude to offsetting.

Services offering to off-set people's carbon footprint have proliferated over the last few years as concerns about the environment become deeper and more widespread.

The earliest form of offsetting was to plant trees in order to remove an equivalent tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) to that which had been used. But this particular method has been heavily criticised because trees released CO2 when they are planted or die.

The committee accepted that public suspicions over the effectiveness of off-setting was damaging its popularity but stressed it was an appropriate way to combat climate change.

In a bid to address concerns, the government recently announced it would introduce a code of practice.

The MPs also berated the airline industry for a lack of consistency and engagement with the schemes, saying their attitude was influenced by attempts to make plane travel appear less harmful than it really is.

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