Carbon Pricing Initiative
(a) Reduce carbon emissions linked to air travel by the introduction of a "carbon tax", which raises awareness about the personal contribution of carbon emissions, while acting as an incentive to consider other travel options with less environmental impact. (b) Create a mechanism to finance the purchase of certified carbon credits to offset emissions linked to travel.
Travel is fundamental to implement the core mission of the Organisation. Staff have to liaise with different governments to draft recommendations and provide practical support to Members countries. To incentivise teams to substitute air travel with other options (i.e. teleconference, train), the Secretary-General introduced an internal "Carbon Price Initiative" in 2013. All units of the Organisation were invited to join the initiative on a voluntary basis. The mechanism charges each OECD Directorate for the CO₂ emitted by air travel related to missions (i.e. 30€ per tonne of CO2 emitted). The emissions are then offset via the purchase of certified carbon credits, reducing CO2 emissions while improving people's lives. In 2018, about 60% of air travel emissions reported in our GHG inventory were covered by this initiative.
