Global Warming Debate Hots Up

The world’s flying in to trouble over aircraft carbon dioxide emissions, Britain’s chief climate advisor has warned.The head of government advisory body, the committee on climate change, says the world’s developed countries must reach an agreement to cap greenhouse gases from aircraft if they have any hope of reaching targets to combat global warming.

The committee also wants a global agreement at UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December to set developed countries’ aviation emissions at or below those of 2005 by 2050.”It is vital that an agreement capping global aviation emissions is part of a Copenhagen deal,” said committee chief executive David Kennedy. “We are calling for a cap that would not require people to fly less than today, but would constrain aviation emissions growth.”

By 2050, flights could produce 20% of all harmful carbon emissions if they are not controlled. Current levels are about 2% of all carbon emissions.The European Union has already agreed a 5% reduction in net aviation emissions from 2013-2020 and any global agreement must match that, Kennedy added.
If you are a frequent flyer or just someone who cares for the environment, you can already play a part by carbon offsetting.Some international investment consultants, like Property Frontiers, from Oxford, handle schemes that help investors reduce their carbon footprints.

One scheme allows an investor to put £7,200 in to buying a section of rainforest in Limon, Costa Rica that outputs the equivalent of 200 ‘clean air’ carbon credits every year to offset any greenhouse gases the investor produces.These carbon credits are tradable on global markets, so if an investor emits the UK family average of 18 metric tonnes of greenhouse gases per year – leaving a balance of 182 metric tonnes for trading.

Not only can the investor make some money from carbon offsets, but can also help save the world by preserving an area of rainforest, together with the wildlife the land supports.Endangered species that live in the Costa Rican rainforests include the macaw, golden toad, puma and jaguar.

The country is a true pioneer in the fight against global warming and the carbon offset market. In 1996, Costa Rica was one of the first countries to sell carbon credits: In an unprecedented transaction, Costa Rica sold its first 200,000 tons of carbon emission reduction credits to Norway for US$10 per ton.