環(huán)球英語 — 534：Carbon Offsetting: Good or Bad?
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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Robin Basselin.
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And I'm Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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Rising sea levels. Dying forests. Growing desert lands. Extreme weather. Many people believe global warming will cause these, and many other serious problems.
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Global warming has been linked to the release of gases, like Carbon Dioxide, into the air. Many of the gases are produced naturally by the earth. However, an increasing amount of gases are released because of human actions - like driving cars, running factories and even heating homes. Many scientists believe that it is these extra gas emissions that are causing global warming.
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Leaders all over the world have been looking for solutions to this problem for many years. In 1997, during the United Nations conference on climate change, many world leaders signed an important treaty called the Kyoto Protocol. This treaty proposed ways to reduce production of harmful gases. Today's Spotlight program is on a basic idea from the Kyoto Protocol called "carbon offsetting."
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The Kyoto Protocol went into effect in February of 2005. In the treaty, developed countries agreed to decrease their levels of gas emissions. This is important because the developed world produces most of the world's harmful emissions.
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In response, the Kyoto Protocol suggested a number of ways that developed countries could reduce their emissions. Some of these ways do not require a company or country to really reduce their emissions. Instead, they "off-set", or balance, their emissions in other ways.
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One way to offset emissions is through trading emissions. Many countries have limits to the amount of emissions that a company can release. If a company does not release all their emissions, they can sell their extra emissions or "carbon credits" to other companies. So, some companies can make money by emitting less gas and selling off extra carbon credits. And companies that are releasing too many emissions can pay to buy extra carbon credits. The hope is that together, the companies will stay below the emission limits.
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Another way companies can earn carbon credits is by investing in projects that reduce emissions. There are many kinds of emissions reducing projects. Some projects work on producing clean energy. This is energy that does not release harmful gases. Good examples of clean energy are power produced by wind and sun.
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Other emission reducing projects can work on protecting the environment. For example, protecting forests is considered an emissions reducing project. This is because the world's forests help take in and store many of the harmful gases that cause global warming. So, when people protect trees and forests, they can decrease the effects of global warming.
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A clear example of carbon offsetting can be found deep in the forests of Brazil. In the state of Amazonas, the Juma Forest Reserve covers 1,400,000 acres of land. This forest has many different kinds of plants and animals. It is also the home of over 2500 people. The protection of this forest is very important to fight global warming.
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However, much of the forest area around Juma is being destroyed. Many companies cut down the trees to sell the wood. They also develop the cleared land for farming or building. This kind of work produces much money and many jobs. But, it also destroys the important forests.
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Today, the Juma Reserve is safe from being destroyed. And Virgilio Viana helped make it possible. He started the project to protect Juma. The project pays the people who live in Juma to protect the forest and not cut or burn the trees. He believes this project improves the quality of life of the people living in the forest. He also believes that it slows global warming.
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The money used to pay the local people comes from supporters all over the world. One company that has given money to Juma is Marriot. This international hotel business has given Juma 2 million dollars to protect the forest. This investment is a way for Marriot to "offset" their carbon emissions. Marriot also encourages all of their hotel visitors to help in the process. They encourage their visitors to give an extra 10 dollars when they stay at their hotels. They say that this 10 dollars will help "offset" the emissions produced by 10 hotel rooms for one night.
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This example of carbon offsetting seems very positive. The forest is protected. The local people are able to help and improve their quality of life. Marriot is able to "offset" their emissions and individual hotel visitors from all over the world are also able to help. Many people think this shows that carbon offsetting can work well.
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But some environmentalists do not agree. They think there are many problems with carbon offsetting. One group of environmentalists called the Carbon Trade Watch wrote a book called "The Carbon Neutral Myth."
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This book lists many problems with carbon offsetting. One problem is that the carbon offsetting industry is not managed or controlled well yet. It is easy for companies to make it look like they offset more emissions than they really do. It is also easy for companies that sell carbon credits to charge people too much money. These companies make large profits and only invest a small amount in emissions reducing projects.
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Carbon Trade Watch also argues that it is impossible to measure how much money can offset one carbon credit. The UN has created complex mathematical formulas to measure a carbon credit. But many people think the formulas are based on unproven theories.
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The biggest problem Carbon Trade Watch has with carbon offsetting is that is not direct. They believe that the process does not address the basic problem - the fact that the world uses too much emissions-producing energy.
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Carbon Trade Watch says that the best solution is to change the way we live and work. They encourage people to use less oil and coal, decrease the amount of waste they throw away and look for ways to use clean energy. They want people and companies to take responsibility for their own emissions. They fear that people will continue to produce too many emissions and just pay money to "offset" it. This may slow global warming, but only direct action and change will stop the damage to the environment.
