Carbon Rationing Action Groups (CRAGs) are a growing network of carbon conscious citizens that respond to climate change by reducing their own carbon footprints and those of their communities.

How you can help

Carbon Rationing Action Groups (CRAGs) are a growing network of local grassroots groups dedicated to reducing their own carbon footprints and those of their communities.

We believe that the impacts of climate change demand a serious programme of greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and we urge governments to adopt a universal and equitable framework to achieve this.

In CRAGs, we are implementing this approach at a community level. We form local groups to support and encourage one another in reducing our carbon footprints towards a sustainable and equitable level. We measure our progress against our carbon allowances. We share knowledge and skills in lower carbon living, raise awareness, and promote practical action in the wider community.

We set ourselves carbon allowances which we reduce year-on-year. Then, over an annual cycle, groups usually reward or penalise members that undershoot or exceed their allowance – putting excess funds into low carbon projects or offsets.

The original aims of the scheme were as follows:

- to make us all aware of our personal CO2 footprint

- to find out if it can help us make radical cuts in our personal CO2 emissions

- to help us argue for (or against!) the adoption of similar schemes at a national (DTQ) and/or international (C&C) level

- to build up solidarity between a growing community of carbon conscious people.

- to share practical lower-carbon-living knowledge and experience

CRAGs: a short guide describes how a CRAG could operate, but each CRAG remains an autonomous entity which can adopt or set its own rules. For example, some groups (e.g. Leeds) have set individual, rather than common, allowances, and others prefer the less daunting title of “Carbon Reduction Action Group”.

Each CRAG is entirely self-starting, so it is up to local CRAG members to drive their groups forward. At present (7/2007), there are ~20 UK and 3 US groups, at various stages of starting up (for the latest, see Groups), and several UK groups have now completed their first carbon year.

The CRAG ‘network’ has no central office, no staff, no funding, and no constitution. It does not have any links with any political party or commercial organisation. There are no press releases and there is no official press contact (please use the contact page, or see the CRAG Dossier for collated material).

However, CRAGs use this website to cooperate and coordinate, share help and information, and provide an umbrella for new groups looking to follow the CRAG model. There is a small group of volunteers who facilitate this process (see Who is behind CRAGs?).

All CRAG members are strongly bound together and motivated by the threat of irreversible climate change. Some CRAG members have a professional interest in climate change or carbon rationing; for example two Oxford CRAG members also work for the Environmental Change Institute.