At least half of the 2 500 environmentalists attending the World Parks Congress in Durban have forked out “compensation” for the energy they are using by attending the event.
Delegates are being asked to pay at least $30 each into a fund called the Johannesburg Climate Legacy (JCL), set up during last year’s World Summit on Sustainable Development.
JCL organisers estimate the World Parks Congress will generate about 20 000 tons of carbon dioxide and related greenhouse gases, which are responsible for global climate change. The calculation is based on the “carbon footprint” delegates make by travelling to the event and consuming energy in the form of water, waste, heating and food production.
The JCL says each $30 paid into the fund offsets three tons of carbon emissions. The money is used to fund energy-saving projects to compensate for the footprint of the congress.
“If we don’t make an intervention, carbon levels just carry on increasing. The energy-saving offset projects reduce and stabilise the overall quantity of carbon emissions in the world,” says Saliem Fakir, director of IUCN-The World Conservation Union, one of the project leaders.
Energy-saving projects the JCL is funding include solar water heating at the Oude Molen Village in Cape Town and solar energy generation at the GreenHouse People’s Environmental Centre in Johannesburg.
Trading carbon offsets is a fairly common practice among corporations overseas, but the JCL is breaking new ground by introducing it to major international conventions.
Fakir says the German government wants to apply the model during an energy conference it will host next year.
The “who’s who” of international conservation supporting the JCL in Durban may be interested to know they join the Rolling Stones, who will offset the carbon footprint of their current European tour by planting 2 800 trees.