Just in time for the UN Climate Talks taking place in Bonn, Germany from June 1-12, comes a new report that exposes carbon offsetting as a con. The report – Dangerous Distractions - claims carbon offsetting as ineffective and damaging, and a con which is failing to reduce, and in some cases is even increasing, carbon emissions.
The push by industrialized countries to offset their carbon emissions is undermining the fight against climate change, warns Friends of the Earth International at the start of key UN Climate Talks.
“It is disgraceful that despite the urgency we are facing to tackle climate change, rich industrialized countries are trying to buy their way out of emission reductions through perilous offset schemes,” explains Meena Raman from Friends of the Earth Malaysia. “Instead of cheating and continually failing to address climate change, they should live up their historical responsibilities and repay their climate debt.”
Carbon offsetting further increases the 'climate debt' that industrialized nations owe to developing countries, which have emitted just a fraction of the carbon emissions responsible for global warming, said Friends of the Earth International. Rich, industrialized countries with around 20% of the world’s population are responsible for around three quarters of historical greenhouse gas emissions.
European and US administrations are actively promoting the increased use of offsetting at the UN Climate Talks, including proposing a plan to carbon offset by buying up forests – which will cause significant social harm to the people that rely on forests and which is an ineffective tool to stop deforestation, explains Friends of the Earth International.
Friends of the Earth International is asking people to call for an end to the carbon offsetting con and put pressure on world leaders for real action. The green campaign group wants a commitment from rich countries to cut their carbon emissions by at least 40 % by 2020.
Visit: http://www.foei.org/
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written by C Morton , July 02, 2009