Carbon Offsets Daily

The White House is to the climate change bill that is being debated  by the US Senate this week. The legislation, referred to as the Lieberman-Warner bill after its sponsors, Senators Joseph Liebrman and John Warner, recommends a "cap-and-trade" system. The system would stipulate a cap on industrial carbon emissions and allow industries to trade carbon credits. The United States is the only developed country that is not part of the carbon-capping and the adoption of the climate bill will help reign in its global warming emissions by 66 per cent by the year 2050.

However, President George Bush warned the lawmakers that the bill would cost the American economy six trillion dollars. Speaking against the bill, he said "You know, there's a much better way to address the environment than imposing these costs on the job creators, which will ultimately have to be borne by American consumers."

But what would be the cost of NOT passing the bill, we wonder.

reports that a group of US scientists, led by a physicist at Columbia University in New York, is working towards creating a device that will "suck" or extract carbon-dioxide from the air. They say that a prototype of the machine should be ready in two years time. Previous attempts at creating such machines (or scrubbers) were in vain due to their high energy requirements. However, Lackner and his team claim that they will use changes in humidity to tackle this problem:

... The team says it can trap the CO2 from air on absorbent plastic sheets called ion exchange membranes, commonly used to purify water. Crucially, it has discovered that humid air can then make the membranes "exhale" their trapped CO2.

They still need to work out how exactly the carbon-dioxide captured by the device will be disposed off. Tentative solutions include using the CO2 in greenhouses for plant growth or to grow algae which could be used for food, fertilizer or fuel.

Lackner admits that their invention will not serve as a panacea for the problem of global warming. However, 

... the team says the technology may be the best way to avert dangerous temperature rises, as fossil fuel use is predicted to increase sharply in coming decades despite international efforts.

 

Tim Yeo, the Chairman of UK's , is all in favor of establishing a system of personal carbon credits, Under the system, each person would be given a quota of carbon credits to meet their fuel and energy needs; anyone who exceeds the stipulated carbon limit will need to purchase more credits from those who haven’t. However, the proposition has been met with ambivalence. The committee sees it as having "real potential to engage the population in the fight against climate change and to achieve significant emissions reductions in a progressive way". But the environment minister, Hilary Benn has dismissed the plan as being “ahead of its time”. Given the cost factors, public opinion etc. the government has shelved the plan for now.

Ahead of its time? Some might actually see that as a good thing. What do you think?

According to a in the Guardian, controversy and criticism surround the UN’s (CDM). The CDM is a system established under the that gives industrialized nations the opportunity to earn CDM credits or certified emission reductions (CERs), by undertaking investments in emission reduction technologies in the developing world. The CDM is supposed to ensure that the projects meet the “additionality” criterion. That is to say, the emission reduction projects wouldn’t have been possible without the sales of carbon credits.

The article reports the findings of two Stanford University academics, David Victor and Michael Wara who claim that a large number of projects under the CDM are not “additional”. It also cites a study by the U.S. watchdog group, , which states that as many as 75 per cent of the registered CDM projects had been completed by the time they were approved. It seems that the crux of the problem is that a good part of the CDM money is being invested in projects that, as Victor puts it, “would be built anyway”.

Nissan- the Japanese automaker, today introduced a first-of-a-kind in Japan that is linked to the sale of a vehicle. In this eco-friendly endeavor, Nissan has joined hands with Carbon Offset Japan, an environmental non-profit organization adhering to the principals of the Under the carbon offset program, for every March Collet sold, Nissan will pledge one ton of carbon credits (equivalent to carbon-dioxide emissions from 4,971 miles of driving) under Carbon Offset Japan.

With the number of cars on the road ever increasing and the concomitant rise in carbon emissions, such programs are a move in the right direction. The above-mentioned campaign, by allowing customers to offset the carbon footprints of their vehicles will reduce the adverse environmental impact of driving. With this initiative, Nissan has taken in keeping with the

Slow and steady wins the green race seems to be the mantra adopted by the Scandinavian airlines, SAS. One of the pioneer airlines in encouraging customers to , SAS has come up with yet another way to help the environment. According to a recent , the airlines has slowed down the speed of its passenger jets from 534 mph to 485 mph, as the latter is a much more fuel efficient speed.

There are a host of airlines that give customers an opportunity to purchase carbon offsets. Delta was the to offer offset purchases to customers. and more recently, also enable customers to purchase carbon offsets. Other notable examples include , and even the travel website .

By following a two pronged strategy: reduce carbon emissions as much as possible, carbon offset what you can’t, SAS is not only reducing their carbon footprint and impact on global warming, they're also reducing fuel costs.

Only a few days left for the on-line virtual tradeshow that began May 15th and concludes May 31st, 2008. They are giving away $5,000 to one of ten sustainable energy projects, each of which has sent in a video summary of their project.

PROJECT SUMMARIES: videos are available in the video section of the (you have to login) and text summaries are here:

1. Shelby Tyne- Greenway Farms - S. Africa – Biogas
Shelby installed a biogas collection system on his farm which now produces electricity and cooking gas. Against many obstacles he has persevered and is now showing other African farmers how to do the same.

2. Dan Robichaud - Canada - Solar Heater
Dan shows that anyone with a bit of initiative can create their own low-cost energy solution.  Taking personal initiative and publicly sharing his results he proves that individual action can have a larger system effect.

3. DAXU - China – Biomass
Burning crop waste instead of coal with a home stove design that increases cooking time while reducing smoke. Changing one stove from coal to biomass prevents over 8 tons/year of CO2.

4. Practical Action - Peru - Micro Hydro
Over 5 million people live in remote villages in the Andes with little to no access to electricity. Microhydro schemes keep people in villages allowing teachers and doctors to bring in computers and refrigeration - Local earnings have increased 60%.

5. AIDS - Philippines - Hydro pumps
Over 15,000 people now have access to clean and safe water and irrigation for crops. Clean water means that vegetables can be grown in dry season and people can keep livestock and fish ponds.

6. SKG - India - Biomass & Biogas
Using cow dung, village women produce electricity and then use the slurry to make fertilizer, providing a source of income and free time that has increased the education of their children.

7. BioTech - India – Biomass
As parts of S. India have grown in middle class, waste disposal has become a major problem. Biotech uses unwanted food waste to produce gas for cooking and electricity. Each plant replaces 1400 tons/yr of diesel which results in 3700 tons/ year of CO2 reduction.

8. Center for Rural Technology - Nepal - Micro Hydro
Processing grain requires women and children to carry heavy loads long distances to mills. Improved hydro mills cut the price of making flour in half and each improved mill replacing diesel offsets 2.4 tons/yr of CO2

9. Deng Ltd - Ghana - Solar PV Panels
Solar power now replaces kerosene lamps greatly reducing indoor toxic fumes which cause the majority of respiratory problems. 600 schools equipped with solar PV can now stay open at night for adult education.

10. SEEDS -Sri Lanka - Micro financing for Solar
Innovative microfinance schemes have financed over 52,000 solar home systems in rural areas of Sri Lanka, where average families had to spend 19% of their income on energy. SEEDS sets affordable monthly payments which are paid back over 1 to 4 years.