2010 was another poor year for weather in the UK and hence the allure of foreign sun reared its ugly head once again. Friends of mine went to Cornwall in summer and it rained all week and that the problem with UK holidays the weather is just so unpredictable.

While looking for flights abroad all the major airlines now offer the facility to offset your carbon for an additional tree and this money is then used to plant tress or increase renewable energy in other parts of the UK or world.

Before this facility was available you booked your holiday and flights without guilt but now that the option is there then you are faced with confessing you are going to add to climate change and greenhouse gases by booking but by paying a few pounds you can be absolved of all green house gas sins by investing in green companies.

Some big polluting industries are investing in cleaner technology to reduce damaging emissions but many are buying carbon credits and certificates from other companies to offset the amount of emission they produce. For example company A has a target of producing less than 500 tons per year of CO2 but actually produces 300 tons due to the cleaner technology it uses. Company B has a target of less than 700 tons but produces 800 of CO2 emissions so what it does is buy 100 tonne certificate from Company A to offset there higher figure thereby offsetting their carbon into the environment.

Most people are happy to informed via the media that greenhouse emissions are reducing via these industries are keeping within their pollution targets but its only once you look into these matters more closely do you realize that its like the terms and conditions of your payment protection insurance, in other words the terms and conditions and nothing like it says on the tin so to speak.

Individuals and companies are making millions from selling offset carbon credits but no one is actually monitoring this monitoring which leads me to believe that maybe the green wash and green spin on this is hiding the real truth of very little difference apart from those making good money from it. I would imagine its mainly banker or now ex bankers using the contacts and experience of trading to reap more money from the poor public.

Buying these credits is just plain maths when it comes to keeping the public happy and their profits up. Why invest in cleaner, greener technology when you can buy carbon credits for a cheaper cost.

What we all need to do is to try and reduce our own carbon footprint before asking big business to do so. If we are not willing to fly less, drive less, eat less meat and stop buying so many unrecycable products then why should we expect a business to any different? The power of change from a billion people in the world would improve the environment and more likely make people as happier because instead of the pursuit of profit it would be in the pursuit of happiness and you know how that film turned out dont you?

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Category: Business
Keywords: profit,offset,ofset,ofsetting,offsetting,climate,products,recycle,fly,carbon,big business,footprint