For sale: CO2 by the ton
How about a few tons of carbon dioxide in your stocking this Christmas?
It's just what some environmentally conscious people might be dreaming of: a gift certificate for 10 tons of carbon-based gas and the promise that someone else won't puff the globe-warming stuff into the atmosphere.
They're called "carbon offsets," based on the idea that individual consumers can make up for the amount of greenhouse gas they produce in everyday life by paying someone else to cut back. And they might be the next big thing in eco-friendly marketing, especially with concern about climate change going mainstream. Seattle mortgage brokers and real-estate agents are promoting "carbon neutral" home loans, promising to buy enough offsets to cover a year's worth of emissions from the house. Bellevue online travel site Expedia is selling airline tickets that come with the offsets. Even local rocker Dave Matthews is promising to make up for whatever greenhouse gases his band's traveling show creates.
Then there's the Christmas carbon gift certificate sold by NetGreen, a Seattle company.
Offsets are billed as a way for average people to do their part by opening their wallets and investing in an important world issue.
But increasingly there are worries of gimmicks tainting what has become an unchecked market that is potentially worth millions. Already companies have been bickering over whose offsets really lead to a cut in emissions elsewhere. The confusion could sour the whole idea for consumers, who might wonder whether they or simply buying an eco-illusion.
"You have to differentiate between the junk that's being bought and sold for 50 cents a ton and quality reductions that are actually having the intended environmental benefits," said Mark Trexler, president of Trexler Climate and Energy Services, a Portland-based firm that works with companies on climate-change issues.
"There's a lot of that happening: buying offsets that aren't really real."
Continue reading this article from the Seattle Times:
For sale: CO2 by the ton
