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Offsetting the Week
This week we learned from Cambridge Econometrics that the UK government were well on their way to failing to meet targets for reductions in carbon emissions by 2020, this came a day after Yvo de Boer, head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) suggested that rich nations could pay poor ones to reduce their emissions for them. A bit like carbon credits. These comments didn't go unnoticed by environmental groups who hit out at the suggestion, and called on rich and poor nations to both cut emissions together. A logical idea when you consider that developed countries make up the majority of CO2 emissions, therefore any reduction by poor nations, who often have the lowest emissions would have a negligible effect on overall emissions in the short term.
Whilst we were worried about our emissions at home being handed over to developing nations to deal with, Sienna Miller jetted of to India to "plea", as the BBC put it for residents to reduce their CO2 emissions as part of the Global Cooling Campaign. Visiting the Bandra Kurla slum home to 350 000 people she said the experience was "humbling" and was "embarrassed" to ask for help when the west produce and have produced the majority of emissions. The Global Cool movement is using celebrities and high profile individuals to spread the word about reducing emissions, part of their campaign is trying to empower 1 billion people to reduce their emissions by 1 tonne each.
With all this offsetting news in the media this week, I began pondering something that has been troubling me for quite some time. My holiday plans for this year, although I have yet to book and the holiday will combine business with pleasure, I will go to Hong Kong, of course this is going to be an environmentally unfriendly holiday, and as yet I have not had the courage to calculate the emissions from the flight. An Eco-nightmare you might say.
I therefore want your ideas on the best way to offset a return flight of 5845 miles? I know there are many solutions in the marketplace, and I am not fond of offsetting, but I want to do something original, creative and clever, and do something, rather than do nothing. I have a few ideas of my own, however I want to hear yours. If the idea involves you doing something then I may out source the project to you. So get those energy saving bulbs lighting up with ideas, turn them off though if you don't need them on.
"This proposal simply won't deliver the cuts we need in time. The scientists are telling us that we need to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) by 50-80% by 2050. Unless rich countries start to wean themselves off fossil fuels right away this won't happen."The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs responded to the research by Cambridge Econometrics stating the UK had a "good record" on tackling climate change and was on target to "meet and exceed" greenhouse gas reduction targets under the Kyoto protocol. The government's Energy White Paper and other measures meant the country was on track to meet the 2020 goal relative to 1990 levels, it said, even though the UK economy will have doubled in size in the same period.
Mike Childs, Friends of the Earth
Whilst we were worried about our emissions at home being handed over to developing nations to deal with, Sienna Miller jetted of to India to "plea", as the BBC put it for residents to reduce their CO2 emissions as part of the Global Cooling Campaign. Visiting the Bandra Kurla slum home to 350 000 people she said the experience was "humbling" and was "embarrassed" to ask for help when the west produce and have produced the majority of emissions. The Global Cool movement is using celebrities and high profile individuals to spread the word about reducing emissions, part of their campaign is trying to empower 1 billion people to reduce their emissions by 1 tonne each.
With all this offsetting news in the media this week, I began pondering something that has been troubling me for quite some time. My holiday plans for this year, although I have yet to book and the holiday will combine business with pleasure, I will go to Hong Kong, of course this is going to be an environmentally unfriendly holiday, and as yet I have not had the courage to calculate the emissions from the flight. An Eco-nightmare you might say.
I therefore want your ideas on the best way to offset a return flight of 5845 miles? I know there are many solutions in the marketplace, and I am not fond of offsetting, but I want to do something original, creative and clever, and do something, rather than do nothing. I have a few ideas of my own, however I want to hear yours. If the idea involves you doing something then I may out source the project to you. So get those energy saving bulbs lighting up with ideas, turn them off though if you don't need them on.
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