Finnish delegation to compensate for own CO2 emissions
Tens of thousands of people participated in the UN Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg South Africa, and there has been much media criticism that delegates’ flights to Johannesburg have caused an increase in the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere, thus advancing climate change.
Because of this the arrangements for the Summit have aimed to conform to the principles of sustainable development and to save South Africa’s natural resources.
The measures include the Johannesburg Climate Legacy (JCL) initiative, which aims to compensate for the greenhouse emissions caused by the Summit. These carbon dioxide emissions are estimated to rise to 300,000 tons.
The goal of the initiative is to raise $US 5 million in donations by the end of September. The fund will be invested in projects that aim to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in South Africa. These projects will be selected later and they may deal with such things as energy saving by hospitals or the use of sun energy and biogas.
The organisations taking part in the initiative include Greening the WSSD, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC).
According to the greenhouse effect emission counter, a ten-dollar donation can offset one ton of carbon dioxide. Someone travelling from Finland to Johannesburg for two weeks causes about five tons of carbon dioxide emissions, and to offset this would cost about $US 70 - 75.
The Finnish delegation to the Summit met to discuss the initiative and recommended that the representatives of the delegation or their organisations assess the emissions caused by their trip and donate the optional sum to the JCL fund. Some members of the delegation have already paid their donation.
Delegations from other countries have made similar recommendations or have decided to collect funds for other aid targets in South Africa.