Paying off our global warming sins
Salon is running a good article called Paying off our global warming sins that weighs up some of the arguments both in favour of, and against carbon credits.
Is going carbon neutral the right path to reducing greenhouse gases? The early reviews by energy experts are mixed. On the positive side, buying offsets goes beyond fretful hand-wringing about government inaction and fist-shaking at polluting industry. Calculating personal greenhouse gas emissions makes people more aware of the ways their own daily activities contribute to the problem. Buying an offset allows them to take an immediate, concrete step to do something about it, which goes beyond writing a check to an environmental group or sending an email to a Congressman.
On the negative side, the best way to fight emissions is to prevent them in the first place, not offset them after they’ve occurred. Some critics worry that offsetting will encourage guilt-free consumption and shift the focus from conservation. Plus, the number of people willing to pay to offset their carbon footprint is so far small — the carbon-neutral groups together have customers in the low tens of thousands. The groups themselves, some of which operate as for-profits others as non-profits, vary in quality and effectiveness, causing observers to warn, “buyer beware.” Other critics say the carbon-neutral movement is a poor substitute for the powerful hand of government.
No single strategy is enough and painting carbon credits as an either/or proposition is simplistic and foolish. Carbon credits associate a cost with pollution and channel funds from polluters to groups working to de-pollute the planet. There are many ways that carbon credits can be created, from properly managed forests, to cleaner industrial processes, but the bottom line is one credit equals one tonne of CO2 gone. If a million people bought one tonne of carbon credits per month that would make significant inroads into our planet’s CO2 surplus. — DS
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