Personal carbon trading trial successful

By 2020, every person in the UK could have their own carbon budget, according to researchers who trialled the idea.

Personal carbon budgets set a limit on the amount of emissions each individual person is allowed to produce through activities such as heating the home, watching TV, and travelling.

People wanting to go over budget could buy extra credits from more frugal individuals.

The idea was backed by David Miliband when he was environment secretary, and a three year study by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) was commissioned.

The study - now complete - concluded that personal carbon trading is too controversial to be introduced anytime soon, but some elements could work.

RSA project director Matt Prescott said setting individuals a carbon budget would work if it was applied to key areas such as energy use in buildings and transport.

Wider implementation would be expensive, politically controversial, and difficult to monitor.

Last year the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) dismissed the idea of personal carbon trading after consultants estimated it costing £1-£2 billion per year to run.

The RSA, however, believes that carbon budgets could be managed through existing technologies such as credit cards, loyalty cards, and fuel cards at a much lower price that Defra’s consultants calculated.

The government must do something to change Britain’s polluting habits, the RSA said, and personal carbon trading is the best way forward.

“Some people will adopt greener living because they think it’s the right thing to do, but the bulk of the population need to feel that they are part of a movement,” said Prescott.

“The government have to become bolder in getting more directly involved in behaviour change.”

Last year, a committee of MPs said carbon trading “might be the kind of radical measure needed to bring about behaviour change.”