diff --git a/src/core-utils/gnc-environment.c b/src/core-utils/gnc-environment.c
index 51e74f4b99..06b2055bfe 100644
--- a/src/core-utils/gnc-environment.c
+++ b/src/core-utils/gnc-environment.c
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ gnc_environment_setup (void)
     gchar *config_path;
     gchar *env_file;
     GKeyFile    *keyfile = g_key_file_new();
-    GError      *error;
+    GError      *error = NULL;
     gchar **env_vars;
     gsize param_count;
     gint i;