To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments for carbon offsetting have been made in each such year. (204102)

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to the Government’s carbon offsetting programme. In 2006 the FCO spent £200,000 on carbon credits to offset the carbon dioxide, and other emissions, generated by the air travel of Ministers and officials based in the UK in 2004. These credits were bought through the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) carbon offset scheme from South African wind developer Genesis ECO-Energy (Pty) Ltd. A further £812,608 has been paid to REEEP to offset the same category of travel undertaken in 2005 and 2006. This will be used to purchase credits in a scheme in a developing country which is also a key climate change partner. Travel undertaken in 2007 will be similarly offset once the level of emissions are known.