Forum for the Future report: Check-out carbon

Forum for the Future has published a new report the explores the potential of carbon labelling. It concludes that carbon labelling does have a role to play in moving people towards a low-carbon shopping basket, but that trying to put a label on everything isn’t the answer. It says that people don’t just want to be told that it’s up to them to choose the right products - they want government and retailers to act too, by taking the most environmentally damaging products off the shelves. You can download the report here: http://www.forumforthefuture.org.uk/blog/check-out-carbon

European Green Week

The European Green week 2008 is coming up in Brussels from June 3 to June 6 2008.

This year, Greenweek 2008 will take a closer look at the sustainable use of natural resources, focusing on waste management, sustainable consumption and production.

A long list of experts on all concerned aspects of sustainable living are coming to Brussels. Don’t miss it !

Further information can be found on http://ec.europa.eu/environment/greenweek/home.html

Unforeseen effects of biofuels, again…

Flemish minister Van Brempt reacted to continuing reports on the environmental impact of biofuels. She announced that the use of biofuels on Flemish busses will be stopped immediately. Here the climate effect was not the issue, but the sustainability of the biofuel production.

This is not the first time a broader view on sustainability halts new bio-energy projects. Recently two permits for new palmoil electricity plants in Antwerp have been refused. The reasons were again that the palm plantations and the oil production were not sustainable.

This positive evolution ensures that biofuel projects in Belgium do not cause disasters somewhere else.

However, it seems like small disasters can happen closer to home with biofuel. Reports from the UK mention bacteria which love tanks in fuel stations. The large tanks contain deposits, dirt, water and now quantities of biofuel. This is more than enough for large cultures of bacteria to start forming. The solid parts of these cultures can clog car filters, tanks and can even cause breakdown and expensive repairs.

The UK authorities say the problem is mostly found in rural fuel outlets with only few customers. Regular cleaning of the tanks can solve this problem quite easily.

We did not hear any news on this kind of problem in Belgium, … yet.

Further information : http://www.mobielvlaanderen.be/persberichten/artikel.php?id=320

See the climate changing on Google Earth

Climate change is difficult to grasp, and different ways to present the effects clearly are always good news.
Google earth collaborates now with the Met Office Hadley Centre and the British Antarctic Survey to add layers which to make Climate change more visible.

” The Met Office Hadley Centre has produced a layer which illustrates their future temperature modeling, showing an animation of temperature change over the next hundred years and its impact to particular parts of the world.

The scientists of the British Antarctic Survey have developed a layer which details how they monitor and measure the effects of climate change in Antarctica, featuring stunning images that show the retreat of the ice from this environmentally-sensitive continent.

Featured on our Google Earth Outreach Showcase, which provides more than 100 examples of KML content telling stories about our planet, are these two layersThese two KML files offer a unique distillation of informed, scientific and geographically-organized information demonstrating the commitment by the British Government to continue to carry out this important climate research and to communicate the results of the research by making this information readily accessible.”

So, have a try ! Climate Change in Our World and Climate Change in Our World, Antarctica.

The cost and value of Biodiversity

A new study on the value of biodiversity is estimating the practical value of biodiversity and the cost of its destruction.

The first progress report on the economics of ecosystems and biodiversity was presented during the 9th UN Conference on Biological Diversity (COP9) in Bonn, Germany on 29 May 2008. This study was commissioned by the EU commission and the German Environmental Ministry (BMU). The study leader is Dr. Pavan Sukhdev, Head of the London”Global Market Centre” of the Deutsche Bank. The scientific contributions for the first progress report were coordinated by the German Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ).

The cost of reduced biodiversity has been evaluated at 3.1 trillion dollars a year or 6% of overall gross national product. Dr. Heidi Wittmer, a senior researcher at UFZ who helped compile the report, spoke of her hopes for the project:

“The Stern Review changed the way we look at the economic consequences of climate change. It is our hope that the TEEB Report will do the same for biodiversity. It is becoming clear that stopping the extinction of species is not merely a romantic notion, but is actually crucial for human survival.”

To be followed for sure.

More info can be found here, here or here.

Making Carbon Visible

Overcoming barriers and unlocking actions to tackle climate change is a real challenge. Making carbon visible is one way amongst others.

The Vulcan Project is a NASA/DOE funded effort under the North American Carbon Program (NACP)to quantify North American fossil fuel carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions at space and time scales much finer than has been achieved in the past. The detail and scope of the Vulcan CO₂ inventory has made it a valuable tool for policymakers, demographers and social scientists.

Like a heart pulsation, this animation shows the intensity of carbon emissions over a year. Worth seeing!

Climate Change and Wine Industry

In the last decade, climate change has gradually turned into a major topic in the media as well as one of the most cited concerns of the European citizens. Fuelled in the public perception by a number of disastrous weather events such as the 2003 heat wave, the Katrina hurricane or the exceptional 2007 fire season in Greece, global warming is to become the after scene for human activities throughout the XXIst century.

Furthermore, the last two years have yielded a new level of awareness, thanks to the near simultaneous dissemination of the “Stern report”, the 4th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report and Al Gore’s movie. As symbolised by the latest Peace Nobel Prize and the active preparation of the post-Koto process, this sense of urgency has also invaded the agendas of political and business decision makers alike.

Strongly connected to climate evolution through the various reactions of vineyards themselves, the wine industry has been in the forefront of this movement looking at climate change as a major issue to be tackled. Symposia on this topic are now flourishing, and occurred in 2007 from Dijon to Auckland, from Zaragoza to Chicago. The “2008 season” will be launched in January by Al Gore himself in Madrid at the “II World Meeting on Climate Change & Wine”.

How climate change affects and will affect vineyards

Wine is the canary in the climate-change coal mine, according to climatologists. Even slight changes can wreak havoc on high-quality wine, making it particularly vulnerable to global warming. This reactivity of grapevine to climate variability was studied before anthropogenic climate change appeared at the agenda. Historical data from 1350 to now were analyzed by Leroy Ladurie & his collegues, illustrating the sensitivity of vineyard production and quality related to climate, providing an exceptional background to the most recent studies.

As stated in the latest IPCC report, the world mean temperature has risen by 0.6°C since 1860. The XXth century was most probably the hottest century of the millennium, while 1990-2000 was its warmest decade. This continuous increase of temperature is still on its way and developed a whole range of effects on vineyards across the world, readily noticed and studied by the vintners.

The most impacted vineyards so far are the ones already initially in the warmest places like around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, and California, South Africa and Australia for the rest of the world. High temperatures linked to soil erosion and an increasing lack of precipitation induce sugar and alcohol excess, if not “grilled” grapes leading to a decrease of the production. This has recently led French wine regulators to approve the use of vineyard irrigation, reversing centuries of tradition to rescue regions suddenly too hot for dry farming. In South Africa, winter temperatures can be so mild that the vegetative cycle has to be stopped by chemical treatments to obtain the needed dormancy.

Throughout the world, the excess CO2 concentration has led to very/too prolific grapevines, to a modification if not an extended distribution of some microbial pest and their vector insects, while the rise in temperature induced a 15 to 30 days advancing of the harvest dates (hence a difficulty to hire harvesters in some cases !).

If some places are slowly becoming unsuitable for vineyards, others are opening up. Pr Gregory Jones from Southern Oregon University, one of the leading experts of climate change and vineyard, demonstrated a displacement of 80 to 250 km pole wards of the favourable regions since 1950. Vineyards are coming back to Belgium, Holland, England, Denmark and Sweden and are also heading North in the US and Canada.

On the other hand, weather also influences the chemical composition of the fruits, hence the wine quality. This quality has been shown to rise with temperature until a specific threshold is reached, after which the quality goes down again. If the last decade witnessed a number of places, like the Bordeaux region, to increase the number of very good years, the continuous rise in temperature expected from now to 2050 should bring most of the world actual vineyards across this threshold.

Of course adaptations are possible, and experienced via a number of viticultural practices mixed with switches to varieties more adapted to the new climate. But some scientists warn that if the IPCC worst case scenario of an additional 4°C rise from now to 2100 was to happen, it would severely compress the time and investment needed to adapt and develop new varieties.

The wine industry’s reaction

All these existing and expected consequences of climate change on vineyards have led the whole sector to question on its own responsibility in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. Amongst the main sources is the use of biocide, fertilizers and mechanised equipments for growing the grapes, but also the wine fermentation process, and most of all, wine transportation and packaging. A first batch of studies allowed putting global figures, and as an example, the wine industry was shown to account for the quarter of the 1.5% of the 670 million tonnes of the UK’s annual greenhouse gas emissions produced by the alcohol industry.

Another study has calculated an average of 2 kg of CO2 per litre of wine, hence global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wine production and distribution are 5,336,600 tons in 2001, representing as much as 0.08 percent of global GHG produced by human activities. Although it looks like a small percentage, it is equivalent to the fossil fuel combustion emissions of roughly 1,000,000 passenger vehicles over a year.

Measures to reduce these emissions are as numerous as the sources, and are already intensively explored by some regions like the Champagne, which has the objective to reduce them by 20 to 30% in the next 10 years. In Spain, Torres is replacing cars for his 115-member sales force with hybrid vehicles and installing photovoltaic panels to generate heat and 670 kilowatts of electricity. The panels fill 11 percent of the power needs at the main site in Pacs. A group of seven wine trade companies from Ireland and UK have commissioned the building of two sailing ships to carry sustainably their Bordeaux wine with a minimum carbon footprint.

The spectrum of potential measures is wide and includes for example avoiding the conversion of forests or productive farmland to vineyards, minimizing agrichemical use, maximizing water efficiency, improving the efficiency of winery operation, using renewable energy and biofuels, procuring recycled-content bottles, manufactured regionally, reducing shipping distance and select the most efficient mode possible, which means not shipping by air. Finally, once all economically feasible carbon emissions mitigation measures have been put in place, it is also possible now to purchase certified carbon offsets for all remaining activities.

Carbon tax vs Cap-and-Trade

Two recent papers highlight the old debate between lawmakers favoring a Cap & Trade system and economists preferring a Carbon Tax. This divide is now exacerbated by the fact that the international community need to clarify its position on the post-Kyoto commitments (after 2012).

• N. Gregory Mankiw, One Answer to Global Warming: A New Tax, NY Times, 9/16, 2007
• Solomon, Deborah, Climate Change’s Great Divide, Wall Street Journal, September 12, 2007

The Northwest Passage is open!

The Northwest Passage is the sea route through the Arctic Ocean along the northern coast of North America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is now open for increasing periods of time, making it attractive as a major shipping route.

Sea ice plays a key role in the global climate system of our planet. It reflects the sun’s energy very effectively so, as it melts, more energy is absorbed at the earth’s surface. Global warming is happening and quicker than scientists previously thought. Moreover, the decline of seasonal sea ice is putting the survival of Arctic species such as ringed seals and polar bears at high risk of extinction.

More info:

1. Satellites witness lowest Arctic ice coverage in history (ESA)
2. Northwest Passage Nearly Open (NASA - August 22)
3. Northwest Passage Nearly Open (NASA - August 29)
4. North-West Passage (Wikipedia)

The IUCN Red List

99% of threatened species are at risk from human activities said a new report from the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Life on Earth is disappearing fast and will continue to do so unless urgent action is taken, according to the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

.
There are now 41,415 species on the IUCN Red List and 16,306 of them are threatened with extinction, up from 16,118 last year. The total number of extinct species has reached 785 and a further 65 are only found in captivity or in cultivation.One in four mammals, one in eight birds, one third of all amphibians and 70% of the world’s assessed plants on the 2007 IUCN Red List are in jeopardy.

Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), said: “This year’s IUCN Red List shows that the invaluable efforts made so far to protect species are not enough. The rate of biodiversity loss is increasing and we need to act now to significantly reduce it and stave off this global extinction crisis. This can be done, but only with a concerted effort by all levels of society.”

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is widely recognized as the most reliable evaluation of the world’s species. It classifies them according to their extinction risk and brings into sharp focus the ongoing decline of the world’s biodiversity and the impact that mankind is having upon life on Earth.

Jane Smart, Head of IUCN’s Species Programme, said: “We need to know the precise status of species in order to take the appropriate action. The IUCN Red List does this by measuring the overall status of biodiversity, the rate at which it is being lost and the causes of decline.

“Our lives are inextricably linked with biodiversity and ultimately its protection is essential for our very survival. As the world begins to respond to the current crisis of biodiversity loss, the information from the IUCN Red List is needed to design and implement effective conservation strategies – for the benefit of people and nature.”

More info :

1. Full press release “Extinction crisis escalates: Red List shows apes, corals, vultures, dolphins all in danger“, IUCN, September 12, 2007.
2. Biodiversity benefits (Wikipedia)

Wave of green marketing

Every day, signs of change towards low carbon economies and lifestyles pop up. Among the service industry, advertising companies bring their contribution in helping companies, governements and NGO to create green messages. They conduct research on consumer behaviors,

they boost awareness and publicize earth-friendly products. They organize conferences, seminars and courses on this hot topic in the EU and the US. We believe that it is just a beginning.

In February, the Financial Time reported that AMV BBDO, JWT, Ogilvy, RKCR/Y&R and Saatchi & Saatchi, UK’s leading advertising agencies, believed green advertising will grow in the next 12 months.

Agencies say communicating green values is fast becoming an act of “corporate hygiene” needed to retain competitiveness and standing with customers.

Farah Ramzan Golant, chief executive of AMV, said: “We’re at a tipping point. I really believe we are going to see more of this.”

Lee Daley, chairman and chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi UK, said: “Brands will not be able to opt out of this. Companies which do not live by a green protocol will be financially damaged because consumers will punish them. In the longer term, I do not think they will survive.”

Now, ride the green wave. The quality and quantity of eco-related messages has shifted strikingly in the past 6 months. Whether you believe it is trendy or not, this is no longer a peripheral activity. It could even become mainstream in the coming years.

We are all catching those messages. In fact, a recent EU survey (Eurobarometer) shows that European citizens put environmental issues on top of their concern. So, it is clear and obvious that marketing companies are following our “brand” new behavior.

In the research field, Ipsos-Mori, for example, explores the public’s perspectives on climate change in new report entitled “Tipping point or turning point? Social marketing & climate change”. Published in July, 01, it explores how they think and behave in relation to the issue and what their values and aspirations are. It examines the complex issues that behaviour change policy has to engage with and the role that social marketing could play.

Another study, “What assures consumers on climate change?” carried out by AccountAbility and Consumers International has been released in June. It looks at consumer attitudes to climate change and to their role in tackling it through changes in behaviour.

Regarding awareness raising, institutions, governments, artist and NGO are on the front line. One of the best example is certainly the campaign initiated by the European Commission. The purpose of “You control Climate Change” is to educate individuals on the factors affecting climate change as well as to influence them to make a contribution to stop its progression. Greenpeace has his channel on You Tube. Friends of the Earth campaigns for solutions to environmental problems by proposing a video contest. Check here and here. Artists such as the Blue Man Group are also giving their piece. See here

Companies try to “clean” their brands as much as they can. In the automobile industry, SMART is leading the way ahead of Toyota Prius, VW Blue Motion and Saab Biopower. From Philips with “Saving the polar bear“to Tesco to HSBC, businesses blitz the airwaves with concern for a healthy planet. BP, for example, advertises its investments in renewables as it rebrands itself with the label “Beyond Petroleum”.

.
AlisonBurns, chief executive of JWT London, said “Once a company makes an environmental statement, its direct competitor is now conspicuous by its absence if it hasn’t too. Consumers are suspicious of that silence. This isn’t restricted to a particular industry. It is in-creasingly pervasive. There is an underlying expectation that we are asking more questions about companies’ intentions. That is partly a phenomenon of the digital age where consumers are used to interviewing brands like they might be interviewing people for a job.“

As it becomes more and more crucial for businesses to communicate with clarity, thoroughness and responsibility on their sustainability performance, events on the subject are organized around the world. London will be the venue for a Green Marketing Forum on November 28-30. That event will feature “14 incisive case studies,” offering insight “from early adopters [about] what works and what doesn’t.” Participating companies include Barclaycard, BMW, Intel, Marks & Spencer, Philips Lighting, and Virgin Trains. Sustainable Brands ‘07, will take place in New Orleans on September 26-28. On October 3, PRWeek is hosting Target Green: Collaborating for Change, in Washington, D.C.

European GHG inventory 1990-2005

The European Environment Agency has recently published the annual submission of the greenhouse gas inventory of the European Community to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It presents greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2005 by individual Member State and by economic sector.

The report shows that between 2004 and 2005 emissions in the 15 pre-2004 Member States decreased by 35.2 million tonnes or 0.8 % and total EU-27 emissions decreased by 0.7 %. EU-15 emissions in 2005 were 2 % below base year levels under the Kyoto Protocol and EU-27 emission were 7.9 % below 1990 levels.

To read the report go to: http://reports.eea.europa.eu/technical_report_2007_7

High performance building costs overestimated shows study

While many companies are increasingly integrating green building into their practice in order to foster their competitiveness, a new survey has found that most key players in real estate and construction overestimate the cost of green buildings by up to 300%.

.
The study, carried out by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and based on a global survey of 1,400 individuals active in the property industry, reveals that most property professionals assume building “green” means spending around 17% more on materials and construction. But this is more than three times more than the average extra cost for significantly reducing energy waste in buildings in most developed countries, claims the WBCSD.

“Key players in real estate and construction misjudge the costs and benefits of ‘green’ buildings, creating a major barrier to more energy efficiency in the building sector,” according to the WBCSD, a CEO-led grouping of 200 multinational corporations.

According to the study, among member states, Germany has the highest involvement of building professionals in green building projects, followed by Spain and France.

The Commission estimates that proper implementation of EU legislation to improve energy efficiency in buildings “will permit a gain estimated at some 40 Mtoe (Megatons of oil equivalent) between now and 2020″. But most member states have delayed implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD - see our LinksDossier), citing a lack of professionals qualified to produce the building energy certificates required by the Directive.

Energy-efficiency buildings can be of a major importance for companies seeking increases in their profitability. It reduces operating costs and exposure to fossil fuel price volatility & higher water rates. Moreover, it favors employee productivity and health as well as provides faster lease-up rates and higher building values. Finally, it allows to credibly and publicy demonstrate environmental responsibility. Build green isn’t a sacrifice of profits but a real chance to gain competitive advantage in a carbon-constrained economy.

Greenweek 2007 : Past lessons, Future challenges

12 - 15 June 2007, Brussels

Linking in with the festivities for the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, Green Week 2007 will look back at 50 years of European environmental policy and will look at the future.

The Greenweek 2007 will be reviewing past actions and identifying success and failures, and looking at the challenges we will face in the future. What have we achieved? Where could we do better? Which are the drivers for change? Do we need to adapt our lifestyle and how? How can innovation and technology help us?

Green Week will provide a unique opportunity for debate, exchange of experience and best practice among non-governmental organisations, businesses, various levels of government and the public.

Green jobs on the rise

Climate change is generating a sustained demand for new technologies, products, and services aimed at reducing greenhouse gases. By meeting that demand, eco-entrepreneurs, governments and environmental groups are creating a constellation of new careers.

.
Research carried out by UK-based recruitment consultancy Acre Resources shows there was more than a 130 percent increase in specialist jobs relating to climate change between May 2006 and May 2007, most the result of heightened activity within major companies. Acre is the leading recruitment agency specialising in Environment, CSR / Sustainability and Climate Change.

Barbara Whittaker, New York Times journalist, reports on how the engine works.

Nowhere is that more obvious than in the trading of credits tied to emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases related to global warming.

“This is a very dynamic and fast-growing market,” said Wiley Barbour, executive director of Environmental Resources Trust, a Washington nonprofit group that is working to foster emission markets.

“I can’t even hire all the people I need. It’s really hard right now to find climate change experts.”

Emissions programs in the United States set a cap or limit on the amount of a pollutant that can be released. Companies that cannot stay under the limit buy credits from those that emit less than permitted.

His group has set up a voluntary registry for companies that want to buy or sell greenhouse gas reduction credits, which are also called offsets. Environmental Resources would verify the emission credits.

The market for these types of jobs has evolved much more in Europe, which has agreed to curb greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol, a United Nations treaty. But in the United States, which has not agreed to the treaty, the job market is blossoming as businesses realize that more legislation to cap emissions is inevitable. Already, California has passed laws to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Voluntary efforts are growing as well amid heightened awareness of the dangers of global warming. For example, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a group of Eastern states, is creating a program for trading emission credits.

Jobs tied to the carbon markets include company project developers, who find ways to reduce emissions; brokers and traders, who bring together companies that want to buy or sell emission credits; and verifiers, who go to a business to validate the credits being offered.

Barbour says the people he hires as verifiers typically have science or engineering backgrounds and have a broad understanding of climate change policy. Verifiers with limited experience typically start at an annual salary of about $50,000, he said, with salaries more than $100,000 for experts.

In the corporate world, there is growing demand for “greenhouse gas coordinators” and “sustainability directors,” whose jobs include managing how much carbon dioxide their company is generating.

Environmental advocacy groups are looking for people to create programs that will ensure that the trading of carbon emissions credits meets standards and cuts emissions.

To read the full article, click here (International Herald Tribune website)

More info :

1. For Job Market, Green Means Growth (Forbes)
2. Climate Change creates specialist job boom (Green Guide)

Competitive Advantage in a Warming Planet

“Quantify your company’s carbon footprint; assess your carbon-related risks and opportunities; adapt your business; and do it better than your rivals”. These are the main steps towards your company’s competitive advantage in a warming planet report Jonathan Lash, World Resources Institute president, and Fred Wellington, WRI senior financial analyst in the last issue of the famous Harvard Business Review.

.
This worth reading article is presented as a “guide for identifying the ways in which climate change can affect your business and for creating a strategy that will help you manage the risks and pursue the opportunities”.

The authors write that companies’ management of climate change is really different from other environmental issues from a risk perspective – it is not simply about regulatory compliance, potential liability from industrial accidents, and pollutant release mitigation. Climate risk is different because the impact is global, the problem is short-middle and long-term, and the harm is essentially irreversible. Moreover, it’s not simply a risk for energy-intensive industries such as utilities and chemical manufacturing.

Lash and Wellington describe six types of climate-related risk:

• regulatory risk: the impact of emissions caps or carbon taxes;
• supply chain risk: disruptions or price hikes in materials or energy, in many cases because of the huge distances such supplies are shipped;
• product and technology risk: companies’ varying ability to identify ways to exploit new market opportunities for climate-friendly products and services;
• litigation risk: the threat of lawsuits for significant carbon generators, similar to the suits faced in the tobacco, pharmaceutical, and asbestos industries;
• reputation risk: companies found guilty in the court of public opinion for selling or using products, processes, or practices that have a negative impact on the climate; and
• physical risk: The direct impacts of droughts, floods, storms, rising sea levels, etc..

In fact, the most important distinctions to be made when considering environmental risk assessment aren’t between sectors but within sectors, where a company’s climate-related risk mitigation and product strategies can create competitive advantage.

To download the full article, click here

Further reading:
1. Corporate responsibility can give competitive advantage (The Age)
2. How companies are turning climate to their advantage (CEE Food Industry)

Earth’s surface temperature

Released by NASA and GISS, this animation shows the Earth’s surface temperature since 1884. Fast your seatbelt…

“Carbon Neutral”: Oxford Dictionary 2006 Word of the Year

The publishers of the Oxford American Dictionary have selected the word of the year for 2006: “carbon neutral”. What a surprise…or perhaps it’s not! It’s true that we are facing an impressive “media buzz” on climate change issues since September 2006. This is what we call: “the Al Gore – Stern – Hulot - IPCC effect”.

In fact, the rise of carbon neutral reflects the growing importance of the green movement in the EU and the US. According to Erin McKean, editor in chief of the New American Oxford Dictionary,

“The increasing use of the word “carbon neutral” reflects not just the greening of our culture, but the greening of our language. When you see first graders trying to make their classrooms carbon neutral, you know the word has become mainstream.”

But what is “carbon neutral” and how do you get there? Being carbon neutral involves calculating your total climate-damaging carbon emissions, reducing them where possible, and then balancing your remaining emissions, often by purchasing a carbon offset: paying to plant new trees or investing in “green” technologies such as solar and wind power.

Let’s take an example. As every individual, you release tons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which contribute to global warming when, for example, you drive, take a flight or heat up/cool down your house. The first thing to do is to reduce your climate footprint by adopting new daily behaviors which often are cost-saving: Drive less, walk and bike more, drive smoothly, take public transportation when it is possible, turn down the heat, switch of your lights when you don’t need them, use energy-saving light bulbs, buy local, [...].The next step is to evaluate your remaining greenhouse gases and balance them by choosing a carbon offset provider.

Last year has seen a real explosion in the voluntary offset programs. Today, we count at least 50 companies or non profit organizations offering the use of carbon calculators and proposing projects that reduce emissions and promote sustainable development. Once you have calculated your remaining emissions, you can expect to pay €10 - €30 per ton of CO2 offset, depending on the company you choose. But price should not be the only factor that influences your choice of company or non profit organisation. Here are the questions you must address:

• Does the company invest in projects that truly reduce emissions and at the same time benefit the local population and ecosystems?
• Are your emissions calculated correctly?
• How is your used?
• Does the company work transparently?

At the end, Carbon offsetting is surely a second best choice (cut down on your own emissions before any else) but it can genuinely reduce emissions. Even more importantly, it can help provide funds now to kick start the development of low carbon technologies through innovation, which will be vital in the more fundamental transition to low carbon societies.

Event : Carbon Market Insights 2007

This year’s event will reflect on, amongst other major issues, the opening up of the EU emissions trading scheme to the global carbon markets. Carbon Market Insights 2007 is set to be the largest carbon market conference to date. Confirmed keynote speaker is Al Gore. The 2006 event gathered 1,250 delegates from over 60 countries, representing more than 600 companies, organisations and governments. By attracting the best specialised speakers combined with an intimate networking environment, Point Carbon hosted an event that was considered to be an outstanding success by all participants.

Carbon Market Insights will take place on 13-15 March 2007 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Al Gore Effect

After his defeat in the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore began featuring a slideshow in multimedia presentations on global warming across the U.S. and around the world. He showed the presentation more than one thousand times, pledging for a low carbon society.

Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world’s scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced.

Our climate crisis may at times appear to be happening slowly, but in fact it is happening very quickly-and has become a true planetary emergency. The Chinese expression for crisis consists of two characters. The first is a symbol for danger; the second is a symbol for opportunity. In order to face down the danger that is stalking us and move through it, we first have to recognize that we are facing a crisis. So why is it that our leaders seem not to hear such clarion warnings? Are they resisting the truth because they know that the moment they acknowledge it, they will face a moral imperative to act? Is it simply more convenient to ignore the warnings? Perhaps, but inconvenient truths do not go away just because they are not seen. Indeed, when they are responded to, their significance doesnt diminish; it grows.

In 2005, director Davis Guggenheim, who was skeptical at first, saw Gore’s slide show in New York City and found it so good, so compelling that he proposed to make a movie about. One year later, An Inconvenient Truth was released in 35 countries raising awarness of governements, companies, communities and individuals.

Today, it’s a real block buster ! The film has grossed over $24 million in the U.S. and over $42 million worldwide as of January 31, 2007, making it the third-highest-grossing documentary in the U.S. to date (after Fahrenheit 9/11 and March of the Penguins). The movie is up for two Oscars this month and Gore is nominee for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for mobilizing a worldwide crusade.

If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s not too late ! The documentary is available on DVD and even on book. Here is the trailer :

Convinced ? It’s now time to act ! Have a look to this interview :
Al Gore explains how you can fight global warming