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Offset project leads to violence in Uganda
A report by the World Rainforest Movement details the violence villagers in eastern Uganda are subjected to just for trying to access their own land which is “protected” by armed park rangers guarding a carbon offset project for a Dutch company. Villagers have been beaten and shot at “in defense of” FACE Foundation’s project, the credits of which are sold to Amnesty International, the Body Shop, and others.
As Grist’s Julia Olmstead points out, this is another example of the questionable efficacy of offset projects and the misconception that we can neutralize our carbon emissions by throwing money at a third-party business.
I mean really, whether it's carbon offsets, biofuels, coal-to-liquid, whatever, how long will we continue to think that we can buy our way out of this mess? The cost of our refusal to make actual changes to our lifestyles is beyond our imagining.
I thought you might be interested in this new report that is available online
The Carbon Neutral Myth – Offset Indulgences for your Climate Sins is available online at:
www.tni.org
"Carbon offsets are the modern day indulgences, sold to an increasingly carbon conscious public to absolve their climate sins. Scratch the surface, however, and a disturbing picture emerges, where creative accountancy and elaborate shell games cover up the impossibility of verifying genuine climate change benefits, and where communities in the South often have little choice as offset projects are inflicted on them.
This report argues that offsets place disproportionate emphasis on individual lifestyles and carbon footprints, distracting attention from the wider, systemic changes and collective political action that needs to be taken to tackle climate change. Promoting more effective and empowering approaches involves moving away from the marketing gimmicks, celebrity endorsements, technological quick fixes, and the North/South exploitation that the carbon offsets industry embodies."