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POSCO’s major forestation project in Uruguay has been accredited by the UN as helping offset the steelmaker’s huge carbon footprint.
POSCO Uruguay, which was established in February 2009, planted 880,000 eucalyptus trees on 1,000 hectares of land in Cerrolargo, the company said Thursday. On Dec. 3, it was registered as a Clean Development Mechanism by the UN Framework on Climate Change. POSCO’s project in Uruguay is the first by a steelmaker to be certified by the UNFCC.
The CDM gives companies the right to emit greenhouse gases in proportion to the amount of CO2 absorbed by large-scale forests they plant. POSCO plans to invest another US$55 million in the region and plant trees on 20,000 hectares of land, one third the size of Seoul, to secure more credits.
Under the Kyoto Protocol that went effective in 2005, companies in countries classified under the Annex I are required to reduce greenhouse gas emission, and if they fail to reach the quota must buy credits. The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme for example charges 12 to 15 to euros to discharge a ton of greenhouse gas.