10/13/03

Not a few heads shook when they found out about the environmental initiative issued by the Geneva government in conjunction with WSIS at the recently concluded PrepCom3.

Dubbed "Initiative WSIS-goes CO2-neutral," the program hopes to compensate for the projected 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide emission that will be generated by over 5,000 WSIS participants converging in Geneva this 10-12 December 2003. This will be achieved mainly through monetary terms - the Swiss Government calls it a 'tribute' - which will depend largely on the participant's country of origin. Said tributes shall be paid on a voluntary basis.

The Initiative is managed by the Foundation for Climate Protection Partnership (CLIPP), which has come up with an equation to calculate an individual's carbon dioxide emission in relation to her or his attendance at the WSIS. For example a participant coming from Brazil will emit 5.7 tons of CO2. According to their calculation, the Brazilian participant will pay US$86.

Among the factors involved in the calculation are transport to and from host city, hotel and electricity use and transport during WSIS. For convenience, an online calculator is provided.

The amounts collected will be used to fund small-scale clean energy products such as the installation of small-scale biogas systems in India. Participants who join this project will be issued a certificate.

The CLIPP website has a whole section devoted to detailing this interesting enterprise.