Islanders encouraged to offset their carbon footprint in Guernsey

A carbon offset scheme in Guernsey is encouraging islanders to pay to counteract their carbon footprint.

The project, which has been set up by local environmental and social standards business, ESI Monitor, has been backed by the island's Lieutenant-Governor.

It is the first of its kind in the Channel Islands.

The company says the aim of the initiative is to raise £100,000 for local biodiversity projects.

ESI Monitor says it hopes funding of local biodiversity projects could exceed £250,000 a year, but is encouraging islanders to embrace the scheme to help this happen.

Islanders who choose to take part in the project will have to input how many miles they drive annually and what type of car they have online.

Their carbon will then be calculated and islanders will pay to offset it. The money will be split between ‘green’ projects both worldwide and in Guernsey.

The Lieutenant-Governor has trialled the scheme by offsetting emissions from Government House road vehicles and says he is "delighted to support a local initiative".

ESI Monitor says normal carbon offsetting schemes work by calculating the amount of greenhouse gases produced by things like cars, motorbikes and boats and spending money to counteract the amount of CO2e being produced, or stop it being emitted.

Harmful emissions include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, water vapour, and nitrous oxide.

These are all ‘natural’ gases, but due to human activity they are being emitted at extremely unnatural rates. These are commonly calculated as ‘CO2e’, or carbon dioxide and equivalents.