Academic Travel Meets Climate Action: CEPR Partners with Homaio to Cut Its Carbon Footprint
As an international organisation, Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) 's activities inevitably involve travel, and the carbon emissions that come with it. Committed to reducing the environmental impact of its operations, CEPR has launched a new Greener Travel Policy in partnership with Homaio, striking a balance between meaningful academic collaboration and sustainability.
The policy rests on two pillars: reducing travel-related emissions where possible, and compensating for unavoidable flights through a robust, transparent mechanism.
How it works
Homaio is a Paris-based company specialising in investment products with measurable climate impact. Through this partnership, CEPR gains access to Homaio's platform to purchase and permanently cancel European Union Allowances (EUAs) under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).
Each cancelled allowance represents one tonne of CO₂ equivalent that can never be emitted by anyone else within the scheme. Homaio holds these physical allowances in the EU Registry, ensuring their definitive removal from circulation. Since the total supply of EUAs is strictly capped, every cancellation directly reduces the overall emissions capacity of the European system.
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A pragmatic step, not a licence to fly freely
As CEPR President Beatrice Weder di Mauro puts it: "This is not a licence to fly without considering the consequences, but rather a pragmatic step to mitigate some of the harm associated with academic travel while keeping our research community connected."
Beyond carbon compensation, the partnership creates opportunities for collaboration between academic and financial communities to develop impactful climate investment solutions.
Permanently removing allowances to maximise impact
What sets this approach apart from traditional carbon offsetting is the permanent, irreversible removal of allowances from the market. Whether the goal is to offset a carbon footprint or simply to take meaningful environmental action, cancelling EUAs delivers a direct and measurable impact in the fight against climate change. By shrinking the pool of available allowances, this mechanism increases pressure on polluting industries and contributes to driving up the carbon price, strengthening the economic incentive to decarbonise.
