Can they really do that? (0)
Posted 3 August, 2008 in Carbon offsetting, Carbon trading, Footprint reduction
This is a neat twist in the world of carbon offsets. There’s a straightforward emissions calculator that you can use to tot up your CO2 output from household, car and air flight sources. Once you know how many tonnes of CO2 you need to offset (having remembered the golden rule: to reduce your emissions first) you pay the appropriate amount.
The clever bit is that the amount charged per tonne (plus the admin charges and hedge fees by which the company makes its money and protects itself from market swings) is the current trading rate on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme — the same scheme that big business uses to buy and sell the “right to pollute”.
Say you wanted to offset ten tonnes of CO2. Right now (3 August 2008) that would set you back 229 quid. Carbon Retirement — the name of the company that does exactly what it says on the tin — will buy that amount of carbon trading tokens on the market… and retire them. In other words, the EU loses that amount of CO2 emissions rights. Oooh, the devastating simplicity of it all!
We should gasp in awe that it’s allowed. If the company takes off, others will inevitably jump on the bandwagon. If they start having a noticeable impact on EU emissions (and let’s face it, that is the idea) the price of carbon will rocket, making it more expensive to offset each tonne. Not only that, but the energy producing companies and other businesses involved in the trading market for production reasons will no doubt pass those additional costs on to their customers.
And what if, say, a rogue state were to start buying up emissions certificates en masse? What would the economic and political fallout be?
For the time being, though, full marks must be awarded for creative thinking. We wish Carbon Retirement every success and are keeping our fingers crossed that no one notices what they’re up to…
