 Introduction
Over 10,000 athletes from over 200 countries are expected to arrive in China for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In most cases, the only way to get to China is by air travel. The average round-trip flight to China will generate around four to six tons of CO2. Added up, these flights will be pumping hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon into the atmosphere!
The increase of CO2 and other greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels acts to trap more heat from the sun into the Earth's atmosphere, which is one of the most important causes of global warming.
Humans have been burning fossil fuels for over 200 years. According to date from the World Resources Institute, that's a total of 2.3 trillion tons of CO2 emissions! The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that the global temperature will rise by about 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius by 2100.
For more on climate change, please click here.
What Can Be Done
On March 27th, 2007, WWF began a global campaign urging Olympic athletes to ¡°Go for Gold.¡± That is, to donate the equivalent cost of the carbon emissions from their flights to meet the Gold Standard¨C or equivalent ¨C offsetting projects. These include wind turbines in Madagascar, solar power projects in Costa Rica, biomass projects in India, and other energy efficiency initiatives.It is expected that China projects will begin soon.
By signing on, as individual athletes or an entire Olympic delegation, participants can become a member of the global team in the race against climate change. Even before the Olympic Games commence, these team members will already be taking home the gold for their efforts in offsetting their carbon emissions.
WWF recommends the use of the following sales points for Olympic athletes and travelers to calculate their carbon emissions and to select offset projects:
www.climatefriendly.com
www.myclimate.org
www.atmosfair.de
www.nativeenergy.com
www.tricoronagreen.com
What is Carbon Offsetting
When the emission of carbon can't be avoided or reduced, offsetting is the most practical way to minimize its negative impact. Offsetting your emissions means fixing a price to the cost of a polluting activity, such as flying, driving a car, heating or cooling. Carbon credits act like certificates that represent a reduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and can be traded, purchased or sold in the international markets.
By purchasing carbon credits from sales points, your money is then invested in a portfolio of different projects such as clean energy plants, wind farms, and other energy efficiency projects, in various countries around the world. A flight from Paris to Beijing emits around 2000 kg of CO2 for an economy flight with modest luggage. Athletes can expect offset costs of around US $100 on average.
What is Gold Standard
CDM Gold Standard is a non-profit foundation and internationally recognized organization that oversees projects in the carbon market and adheres to a strict set of guidelines and requirements. Gold Standard works to ensure that Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects under the Kyoto Protocol are both reducing CO2 emissions and maintaining sustainable development. Gold Standard delivers high quality carbon credits and is endorsed by 44 non-government organizations (NGO) worldwide, including WWF.
Gold Standard Projects in China:
January 20th, 2008 - The 49.5MWh wind project in Fujian province is the first Gold Standard project to be approved in China. Built by Chinese power company China Datang Corporation, the Dutch energy company Essent Trading will purchase 450,000 CERs from the project over five years.
April 14th, 2008 - The Yinyi windfarm in Ningxia Autonomous Region is the second Gold Standard project to be approved in China. The project's developer is the Swedish carbon offset company Tricorona. The windfarm will generate around 100,000 MWh of energy annually and is currently the largest Gold Standard project.
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