Carbon Dioxide, known chemically as CO2, is a greenhouse gas forming part of the atmosphere to help keep our planet warm by trapping the sun's heat. A cold planet will not be suitable for the kind of life we have now. But to much of this in our atmosphere can have the opposite effect, and as such rising temperatures are feared to bring changes in weather systems around the global, and hence climate change is one of the greatest challenges ever to face humankind.

Natural CO2 is mainly released by the decay of plants, volcanic eruptions and animal waste products. Once released in the air, the gas is removed from the atmosphere by plant photosynthesis and by the oceans' water. Gaia balances the production and conversion of this critical gas to regulate life on earth according to a cosmic clock.

Sadly, human's industrial revolution appears to have had some disastrous effects and devastating consequences on this delicate balance. For instance, only two return flights from London to Moscow produce a tonne of CO2. Optimistically speaking, the concentration of CO2 in OUR atmosphere is predicted to reach twice the level of CO2 before the industrial revolution by 2100; other, more daring, scenarios say this could take place by 2050.

What is Carbon Footprint?

A carbon footprint is the number of units of CO2 produced by one person; generally averaging 10 tonnes per year in Western Europe. In terms of countries, the UK produces about 500 million tonnes of CO2 a year.

 

 

What is Kyoto Agreement?

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
It is an international agreement setting binding targets for 37 industrialised countries to reduce their emission of greenhouse gases by a mere 5% against   the 1990 levels over a five-year period from 2008 to 2012. The protocol commits the participating developed countries to reduce their emissions as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity.

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on the 11th of December 1997 and entered into force on the 16th of February 2005. So far 183 countries have signed and ratified the Kyoto agreement, including the North African states: Libya, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt.

 

 

What is CO2 Offsetting?

It is not easy to provide a clear-cut answer to this question, but the following will attempt to explain the real issue.

 

 

Carbon Offsetting Versus Carbon Philanthropy:

All claims regarding "neutrality" and "zero-carbon" are misleading to a certain extent. According to our current technology one cannot eliminate or neutralise the gases produced in the atmosphere, but can greatly reduce the amount will-be-produced; as well as build as many projects as one can afford. Cutting-down on many none-essential things, like lowering your thermostat by one degree or two, driving sensibly, and flying and driving less are just a few great measures we can all permanently take to reduce the amount of CO2 produced. However, building green projects to offset the CO2 while continuing to produce more CO2 elsewhere is not what the planet currently urgently needs.

 

• Carbon Offsetting services are offered by organisations, most of which are profit-based businesses or commercial companies, while others are charity-based. They use some of the money they take from customers to fund environmental projects and as such critics were quick to declare that carbon offsetting is nothing more than paying for the right to carry on emitting more carbon. Although funding green-projects to help communities around the globe is certainly good for the planet, the proper solution, they argue, must come from reducing the carbon emissions and therefore the CO2 released in the air. To give you an idea of what and how much is needed, a 60% cut in CO2 emissions by 2050 is required in the UK alone. For example, some major airliners pay millions of pounds towards offsetting their carbon production, but continue to operate the same number of flights, if not more. Carbon offsetting initiatives are widely seen to exert no visible pressure on the major suppliers to reduce the carbon pollution they constantly produce. Many experts are increasingly bringing this issue to the open.
  
  
• Carbon Philanthropy, on the other hand, aims to provide a non-profit alternative to carbon offsetting via a number of initiatives that tackle the travel-related causes of climate change, and/or help the affected local communities worldwide to cope with the effects of climate change. Resulting increased droughts, starvation, flooding and diseases will  put  greater  pressure on the agencies specialising on   disaster relief to seek urgent funding from charitable sources because government aid is often to late. Philanthropy programs support these charities to fund their relief programs as quickly as possible. Hence the etymology of philanthropy comes from the Greek philanthropia, from phil- (loving) + anthropos (man): to love fellow human beings, and the best way to expresses this love is to be there when disaster strikes, rather than pretend deaf and turn blind eye and speak targets and so on. Although the supporters of carbon philanthropy emphasis the non-profit nature of their work as opposed to the profit-based carbon offsetting, critics say that there is no evidence that carbon philanthropy has any measurable impact on CO2 reduction either. In fact, it should not, because it does not say it has. What it does say is help those affected by the disasters thought-to-have-been caused by the excess CO2 produced; and therefore more people are increasingly finding it more responsible to house a homeless family whose home was swept away by a tsunami, rather than pay companies to plant more plants or generate electricity from wind. While there are others who say that the whole thing is completely out of control. We say look in the positive side and start reducing at home.
  
  

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Before you part with anything,
read Friends of the Earth new report.

The report, "Finds that in practice offsetting is not leading to global emissions reductions or benefits to developing countries. Instead, it is simply leading to more ingenious ways to avoid cutting emissions."

Read the full report (published by Friends of the Earth at www.foe.co.uk).

Offsetting: A Dangerous Distraction

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According to the Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/jun/16/climatechange.climatechange

"One of the biggest UK offsetters, Climate Care, which is used by the Guardian, distributed 10,000 energy-efficient lightbulbs in a South African township; offered the carbon reductions as offsets; and then discovered that an energy company was distributing the same kind of lightbulbs free to masses of customers, including their township, so the reduction would have happened anyway . . . Dan Welch, a Manchester journalist who investigated offsetters for Ethical Consumer magazine, summarised it neatly: "Offsets are an imaginary commodity created by deducting what you hope happens from what you guess would have happened." Read full article here.

 

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Responsibletravel.com has made the important decision to remove carbon offsetting from responsibletravel.com in October 2008. They say, in their website, that their position is the same as that of Friends of the Earth, Oxford University Business School and The Committee on Climate Change: offsetting distracts from the real issues of reducing our carbon emissions as much as possible.

http://www.responsibletravel.com/Copy/Copy901646.htm

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Of course, there are several organisations, charity-based and companies, that are funding a wide variety of projects around the globe. And most people do recognise their efforts and wholeheartedly agree that all these projects are really good for the planet. But what is the point in (and/or of) producing wind-based electricity, enough to supply the whole world, when continuing to produce more and more CO2 elsewhere? 60% reduction is required in the UK alone, and therefore to scientists the primary concern is to reduce CO2 and not to produce anything else. Everything else is secondary to the issue and that is why more and more organisations (as we saw above) are increasingly distancing themselves from offsetting.

 

 

 

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We believe we should do both: first start reducing everywhere we can, then continue to build as many good projects as we can. Building means to build something, to create something that was not there before. Reducing is removing something that was created before, something that is already there. People should always build good projects to benefit particularly the unfortunate communities suffering around the globe; but scientists stress the need to reduce the production of CO2. Equally valid, reducing CO2 and all the other "negative" things plighting humanity should be reduced and eventually eliminated. There is nothing more to it than that. In North Africa there is a good traditional tale: imagine someone is stuck in the mud to his or her knees and in order to free one leg from the mud s/he needs to stick the first leg back in the mud!

What Can You Really Do?

If you really care, then you need to consider reducing your daily emissions at home and at work before anywhere else, and do this all the time and not just when you are going abroad! Please see our full list of the things you can do to offset your CO2 and conserve energy.

 

 

Carbon Offsetting Projects:

If you do decide to take part in commercial carbon offsetting, then there are various projects relating to carbon offsetting, most of which are associated with the following categories:

• Protection of rainforests & tree planting: buying and conserving rainforest areas to reduce deforestation, and planting trees to help reduce carbon dioxide by producing more oxygen.
  
  
• Solar power: producing electricity from sun light: it is free, plentiful and clean. Domestic systems can save you hundreds of pounds off your yearly electricity and gas bills.
  
  
• Solar thermal power: involves catching sunbeams, magnifying them, and then using them to heat stored air or water.
  
  
• Hydro power: producing electricity using the energy inherent in water, such as waves. Forcing water past the blades of a turbine will force it to spin and thereby drive electromagnetic generators that churn out electricity.
  
  
• Rain Power: Trapping rain water in dams and then releasing it through turbines produces electricity; although hydroelectric dams are often controversial owing to their impact on wildlife such as fish and other river plants and animals, and owing to their impact on human life as communities often were forced to abandon their homes when areas upstream of the dam are deliberately flooded.
  
  
• Wind power: producing electricity from wind energy is clean.
  
  
• Biomass power: energy extracted from dead or living biological matter and refuse.
  
  
• Employment: all the above projects imply employing local people to benefit the local communities.

Calculating CO2 Emissions & Offsetting:

There are several carbon calculators available today. Some programs are designed to calculate a specific result for each destination, depending on various factors such as distance traveled, number of passengers, type of aircraft used, and so on. While there are other programs based on "Carbon Zoning", where the planet is divided into several zones and where travellers can donate a specific amount approximated on the mount of CO2 released by an average flight to any of these zones.

There are those who strongly advise that the best approach is to offset your carbon yourself, because the best strategy they say is to reduce the consumption of energy and the release of harmful gases. Simply use one of the available calculators to calculate your CO2 used, and then take measures at home and at work to reduce your consumption of energy to cover the amount produced. There is no reason why not continue reducing for life.

CO2 Calculators:

• Calculate your personal annual CO2 emissions (resurgence.org).