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…
Sooty’s here… where’s Sweep? (0)
Posted 24 March, 2008 in Alternative power, Biofuel technology, Carbon offsetting, Climate change
Earlier elsewhere, I posted something about a paper in Nature Geoscience that raises the sooty spectre of black carbon. There’s nothing quite so alarming as scrambling across what should be a pristine glacial environment to find it covered with a sheen of black ash. Well, those deposits, fallout from the combustion of biofuels – “environmentally friendly” wood, dung and crop waste – are a sure sign that life is not as simple as turning our backs on fossil fuels. Indeed, we should perhaps think about how we could use whatever oil and gas we have left to expedite a genuinely cleaner alternative, rather than jumping on any bandwagon that happens to be passing by.
In particular, converting from oil- to wood-based forms of power generation should be brought under closer scrutiny. The paper’s authors, Professors “Ram” Ramanathan and Greg Carmichael, note that black carbon is the second most potent source of global warming in the current cycle after carbon dioxide. The idea that burning wood is somehow simply recycling current carbon stocks – as opposed to the long-buried black stuff – clearly isn’t all that simple. But then nothing ever is, is it?
An experiment… (0)
Posted 21 March, 2008 in Carbon offsetting, Carbon trading, Footprint reduction
Most of the ads at the side of this page seem to be selling various carbon offsetting projects. No surprise there then. So for a while I’m going to check each one with a standard set of criteria, in an attempt to draw up a picture of how this newfangled industry is shaping up. It’s just a wild guess, but it seems likely we’ll find a wide range of the kinds of services offered, how much they cost, and how genuine they are. Check back here on a regular basis and I’ll bring you running updates of how it’s going.OK, so it’s not really an experiment. More of a survey. But hopefully some good will come from it…
A moving target (0)
Posted 18 March, 2008 in Carbon offsetting, Carbon trading, Political issues
So is the UK making cuts in its greenhouse gas emissions or not? Well, that depends on which set of statistics you use. First, there are the stats that the Government presents to the UNFCCC, which appear to show that we’re doing rather nicely, thank you very much. Then again, there’s the more comprehensive set of figures – the Environmental Accounts – that the Office for National Statistics prepares. Crucially, the Environmental Accounts include emissions associated with international aviation and shipping. (more…)
Not a car in the world (0)
Posted 17 March, 2008 in Carbon offsetting, Footprint reduction
Traditional carbon offsetting schemes not hard enough for you? OK, give your car keys to www.carlesscarbon.com. The non-profit internet start-up will drive your old, polluting banger to the scrapyard, pick it over for recyclable parts, then throw the rusting carcass in the crusher. Voila. One less car on the road. And if you pledge to remain car free, they’ll even give you a year’s public transport travel pass. (more…)
Just bag it (1)
Posted 14 March, 2008 in Alternative power, Biofuel technology, Carbon offsetting, Carbon trading, Climate change, Footprint reduction, Political issues
One of the documents released with this year’s UK budget – intriguingly entitled “An environmentally sustainable world” [they forgot to add the bit about being in a human timescale] — gives thirteen announcements on how the Government intends to tackle climate change. Number twelve is “to eliminate single-use carrier bags” and warns that the “Government will legislate and impose a charge if retailers do not take voluntary action.” (more…)
It’s not all bad news (0)
Posted 11 March, 2008 in Carbon offsetting, Footprint reduction
Can it be true? Can there be such as thing as a truly carbon neutral… beer? Treehugger.com thinks so, as this story tells us. Seems the Aussies have combined their legendary love of the “amber nectar” with their concern for the environment. In short, they’ve seen the future. According to their website, the makers of Cascade Green beer have taken steps to reduce their Tasmanian carbon emissions, offsetting whatever remains.
The brewery, owned by the giant Fosters group, has “reduced our energy usage by 16% and water usage by 30% per unit of production over the last six years.” That’s per unit of production. They don’t say what their absolute water and energy usages look like: they easily could have grown if, say, the saving were made through economies of scale made through increased production.
Reductions have been made through energy efficiency measures, switching to hydro-power and recycling water. Ingredients are locally sourced, and the remaining emissions have been offset against a Tasmanian power generation scheme, the Hobart Landfill Flare Facility. This uses methane extracted from landfill sites – as this report points out, it’s a shame the same potent greenhouse gas generated by drinking beer can’t be put to good use…
That sinking feeling (0)
Posted 10 March, 2008 in Carbon offsetting, Climate change, Forests and woodlands, Political issues
Welcome to www.eighteenpercentcarbon.com. Let’s talk about trees. Here’s an article, first published in Conservation magazine (April-June 2007), then in the Nature Conservancy’s mag, about the role of trees in carbon sequestration.
That Sinking Feeling
We dig fossil fuel out of the ground, burn it and fill the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, and then plant trees to soak it back up. If only it were so simple.
Aren’t trees great? There’s something so utterly natural about meandering through a leafy woodland glade, staring up at that immense, almost overwhelming beech tree, and giving the big old thing a hug. And not only are trees our friends, but they can also save the planet. Right? According to the website of the CarbonNeutral Company (formerly known as Future Forests), “the invisible nature of greenhouse gases contrasts with how easy it is to understand how trees absorb CO2 and put out oxygen.” So there you have it. We dig fossil fuel out of the ground, burn it, and fill the atmosphere with carbon dioxide—and the trees soak it right back up. (more…)
