While the world was in tumult less than a year ago over reducing pollution, the European Union watchdog group Sandbag is accusing E.U. polluters of using carbon offsets to avoid making their businesses more environmentally friendly, which is irresponsible on the part of these businesses and the United Nations, which is supposed to be monitoring them.
Carbon offsets are a U.N. sanctioned program where companies can “buy off” a certain amount of their emissions pollution. Funds raised by the offsets are meant to create more sustainable means of production in developing nations so that future pollution rates will be lower and their energy consumption will be more efficient. The offsets – if used responsibly – could be a baby step toward moving all production to a greener, more sustainable means, as it subsidizes a portion of the cost of changing production methods.
The concept of carbon offsets is a good idethat recognizes both the environmental need for change and the expense that change creates for businesses. In theory, these heavy polluters, such as Spanish energy company Endesa SA, can reduce the immediate cost of changing their business practice to reduce their carbon emissions by purchasing solar panels for India or supporting some environmental cleanup projects in China. If companies do both, it is a slow change in the way we look at energy consumption and use of resources. But when companies do not change their practices and only buy the offsets, it defeats the purpose of the program.
If I were to light a forest on fire on the east coast and then donate money and equipment to California during their wildfire season, it would not change the fact that my backyard was going up in flames. Likewise, reducing carbon emissions in developing countries without changing anything in developed nations neither sets an example nor changes anything in the environment. The U.N. should be making these carbon offsets mandatory for the largest polluters, as well as closely monitoring the reduction of carbon emissions by those purchasing the offsets. In addition, the E.U. should be more closely monitoring its carbon emissions and pushing all sectors of the economy and production to rethink their practices.
The oceans are acidifying, climates are shifting and natural disasters seem to be occurring more frequently. Those can all be natural occurrences in weather and climate patterns, but coupled with ever-increasing rates of deforestation and pollution and the ecological disturbances that come with the way we run our industries, we cannot blame the planet alone for the changes we see. From overfishing in the Atlantic Ocean to the black market trade of tigers and other endangered species, the state of the world is rapidly depreciating. There is no other option than to start taking responsibility for the planet and effectively making substantial changes to the way we produce energy, manufacture products and run our businesses.
Though Sandbag’s accusation did not give specifics as to how much money the buy outs consisted of, the E.U. still has the fire in their backyard to extinguish before they consider investing primarily in sustainability for developing nations. When in a crisis situation, we are always told to save ourselves before helping other people. We should be applying the same theory to sustainability and reducing carbon emissions. Developed nations will have to lead the way to sustainable practices through actual practice, rather than throwing money at growing industrial powers who are trying to play catch-up with the production rate of the modern world.
Money will have to be spent in either scenario, so why perpetuate a flawed system? We are already rebuilding the global economy, so we should change our practices at the same time and stop accepting cash handouts as a replacement for tangible change. It is time to control the fire in our backyards; both the E.U. and the U.N. should view reduced carbon emissions and sustainable practices as a necessary part of the future instead of prolonging the problem with the temporary solution of unmonitored and unenforced pollution permits and carbon offsets.
Be the first to comment on this article!