ECOCLUB, Issue 92
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this, and we're a little concerned that they have pre-empted the consultation by suggesting that people only buy delivered CERs
(as you mentioned above).
At Climate Care, if the government's conclusion is that they are only prepared to give the 'stamp of approval' as you put it, to
companies which are offering CERs, we will offer CERs to our customers should they want them - as these are part of the
Kyoto Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), as you pointed out they are more expensive. CDM projects also tend to be
larger scale and don't always offer the sustainable development and community benefits that the smaller scale projects do, so we
will continue to offer VERs, for which, as I pointed out above, we will use the Voluntary Carbon Standard and Voluntary Gold
Standards to independently verify.
Beyond air travel, critics have been picking on the association of some
CO2 offseting schemes with large, old-
fashioned car manufacturers, who - critics allege, use carbon-offseting as an alibi for not improving their engines so as to
directly cut emissions - i.e. greenwashing. What is your view? Is carbon-offseting a rather conservative / establishment
response to an acute problem? Is it a 'smokescreen' that delays real change, or is it the art of the possible?
I think in this question, you're referring to the partnership that we have with Land Rover. The launch of the partnership with
Land Rover to offset the emissions from their UK assembly lines and the first 45,000 miles of every new car sold came after an
announcement by Ford, the parent company, to invest £1 billion in developing a range of environmental technologies in the UK
for the companies in the group.
Mike Mason’s comment, Climate Care's founding director, in Climate Care’s 2006 Annual Report answers you questions about
this partnership very succinctly, I think: ‘Whatever [Land Rover’s] future plans, in reality there is nothing they could do to get
emissions down faster than the combination of technology and public acceptance will allow. If they stop selling the vehicles
others will snap up their market, and if they don’t they are guilty of destroying the climate – a case of “damned if they do and
damned if they don’t”. At least with the offering of 100% carbon offsets (in effect compulsory for their customers) we
collectively get the emissions right down immediately, and give the planet some more breathing space whilst technology,
customers, and the newly sanctified politicians get their act together.’
I don't believe carbon offsetting is what's delaying change, it's a lack of political will that's delaying it. Mike Mason set up the
company back in 1998 because he wasn't prepared to sit back and watch governments do nothing to address the real and
growing threat of climate change. He would like nothing better than to reach a point where there was no need for organisations
such as ours.
Why blame it on the consumers, who after all pay for the products and services, and not on the producers? Why for
example, not pass a law to force airlines to offset their emissions? Would you object to that, or do you rather believe it is
not feasible due to airline deregulation especially at a period of high oil prices?
Whatever happens the cost of offsetting will ultimately be passed onto the consumer, and there are some companies now who
have decided simply to include the offset in the cost of the holiday. We need to start pricing carbon into our everyday lives. We
are all responsible for the carbon in our lives. That's why most of the travel companies that work with us offset their staff flights
and then ask their customers to offset their share of the flight.
I'd love to see airlines offsetting the emissions from the empty seats (after all, it's not the consumers' fault that the airline doesn't
sell all the seats) and then getting the customers to take responsibility for their share.
Finally, tourism, is by no means the only cause of air traffic pollution. Beyond other types of passenger air travel,
there are increasing numbers of air cargo flights, and indeed military flights. Could your organisation or peers assist
those sectors in offsetting their emissions?
Absolutely, we are working with a number companies to look into their emissions from transportation of freight and are happy
to work with them. I think military flights is something that governments will have to look at. It's a complex and secretive area,
the full impact of which I think we're unlikely to ever know.
ECOCLUB: Thank you very much.
