Carbon offset schemes questioned

However, writes E-Brief News , experts are questioning the effectiveness of carbon offset schemes. A UK television documentary has uncovered flaws in a series of carbon offsetting schemes. An episode of Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, entitled ‘The Great Green Smoke Screen’, shows academics and environmentalists questioning the ethics and impact of offsetting and suggesting that offsetting schemes have not been effective as claimed, reports The Independent. The programme scrutinises two of the UK’s biggest carbon offset companies – Carbon Neutral Company and Climate Care. Dispatches claims that schemes run by Climate Care, and promoted by BA, took no account of the ‘multiplier’ effect, which increased the damage done by aviation fumes in the stratosphere by a factor of three. In other words, the schemes funded by BA passengers only mitigate one third of the damage that their flights cause. And a project funded by BP to siphon methane gas from excrement at pig farms in Mexico will only produce half the savings claimed on the company\'s Website, which is now being amended. Dispatches questioned whether big companies had any right to claim they were ‘carbon neutral’ as a result of buying offsets to undo the effects of their pollution. Instead the programme hinted that more should be done to limit the polluting activity in the first place. Full report in The Independent

Following reports of widespread problems in the market for carbon offsets, banks involved in carbon-credit trading have moved towards self-regulation, reports the Los Angeles Times. A group of 10 banks, including ABN Amro, Barclays Capital and Citigroup, have agreed on a standard for ‘carbon offsets’ bought by companies and individuals to cancel out their contribution to climate change. The main problems lie in the voluntary market for carbon credits, which is not regulated by governments. The banks have agreed to base their so-called voluntary offset standard on a system of checks set up by the UN under Kyoto. Companies selling offsets based on the standard will have their operations checked by independent parties to deter fraud. The voluntary market for credits was worth less than $1bn but is forecast to grow rapidly. Full Los Angeles Times report

A group of UK scientists suggested the creation of a massive carbon market as part of an effort to make the UK carbon neutral by 2027. The Centre for Alternative Technology report proposes the creation of a carbon market based on Tradable Energy Quotas (TEQs). People would carry their quota of ‘carbon credits’ on an environmental smart card and each time individuals used fossil fuels, they would lose credits. Credits could be bought from other people and companies but they would become more expensive over time, according to The Independent. The resulting market would drive environmental change providing the economic incentive to produce green product, the scientists claim. Full report in The Independent