plant some trees then pollute away, the wrong ‘right idea’!

PLANT SOME TREES THEN POLLUTE AWAY, THE WRONG

‘RIGHT IDEA’!The hidden truth behind carbon offsetting

what is really going on…

2 Les Amis de la Terre France, Friends of the Earth US and FERN

3Les Amis de la Terre France, Friends of the Earth US and FERN

Every individual, or company, emits carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide, CO2), through their activities and their movements. But it is the increase in the build-up

of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that is now causing major climate change. Supporters of carbon offsetting claim that it is possible to neutralise, or “offset”, a company’s carbon emissions by funding an equivalent emission reduction project in another country, for example, by planting trees.

What is carbon offsetting?


Scientists estimate that to limit the global temperature rise to 2˚C, the point after which there is no return as far as the climate crisis is

concerned, we need to leave three quarters of the known reserves of fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) in the ground.

Rather than hanging around waiting for trees to grow we urgently need to turn off the oil tap.


There are two markets for carbon offsets: the compliance market and the voluntary market. The compliance market is regulated by national or international authorities, for example within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol. As for the Voluntary Market,

participants are not bound by any obligations whatsoever. So what’s in it for the companies involved? By voluntarily funding carbon offsetting programs, companies hope to avoid more restrictive legislation but, in the event of such legislation, they can request that their voluntary efforts be officially recognised. As occurred in the case of the Peugeot “carbon sink’” in Brazil, which was initially a scientific research project, then became a voluntary carbon offsetting project, and is now a project that is officially producing carbon credits that companies can use to avoid reducing their emissions.

From carbon offsetting to the carbon markets


The REDD mechanism (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) was an initiative launched in 2008 as part of international climate negotiations. It quickly became apparent that the aim of the initiative was not to

slow down deforestation by tackling the root causes of the problem, but to generate large numbers of cheap “carbon credits” for companies and rich countries. Numerous scientific studies have shown that it was impossible to generate genuine “REDD carbon credits” which led the European Union to adopt a moratorium on the trading of credits until 2020.

Say no to REDD!


Not that this decision has caused those in favour of the integration of REDD into the carbon market to give up. The REDD programme has adopted a strategy of fait accompli: bypassing climate negotiations with parallel processes, mobilising public bodies and funds to create favourable conditions for the integration of REDD into the carbon market and to increase the number of pilot projects.


Read the Durban Declaration on REDD.www.fern.org/publications/ngo-statements/durban-declaration-carbon-trading

Friends of the Earth Europe, Guide to Offsettingwww.foeeurope.org/offsetting

“The great REDD gamble” (2014), Friends of the Earth International www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/The-great-REDD-gamble.pdf

“REDD+ in Madagascar: You can’t see the wood for the carbon” (2013, in association with Basta!), a case study of the Air France REDD project in Madagascar, www.amisdelaterre.org/REDD-in-Madagascar-You-can-t-see.html;

“Carbon vs. Food: a case study of the “Fair Forest Carbon Compensation” projects of French company, Pur Projet, in the region of San Martín, Peru” (2014), www.amisdelaterre.org/rapportpurprojet.

Online book, “Trading Carbon: How it works and why it is controversial”, (FERN, 2010), www.fern.org/book/trading-carbon/trading-carbon-book.

To find out more…

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This publication was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union as part of a European project. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of Les Amis de la Terre and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.

www.foe.org www.fern.org www.amisdelaterre.org

http://desjeuxcreations.fr/en

plant some trees then pollute away, the wrong ‘right idea’!

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