Long before the plans of a unique Arctic passage we had dreams of launching away from a lifestyle that inevitably comes with a large impact on the environment. Sailing has for us, not only been a way to travel and experience adventure but a way to compensate for the emissions we produce in our normal lives. Since the ice conditions of the Arctic make sailing long distances impossible we realized that our voyage would require periods of considerable motoring. None of us were thrilled about burning any amount of diesel in an area of the world that is so pristine and where climate change has made so much of an impact. Our voyage is meant to bring awareness to the changing climate in the Arctic not help that change along. In previous posts we have written about how we bought the most environmentally friendly engine we could find in 2011 to reduce our emissions and now we are also offsetting our CO2.
Our research shows that 1 liter of diesel produces 2,48 kilo of fossil carbon dioxide. If we take account for the whole lifespan of the fuel ( such as emissions caused by refinement and distribution) the emissions are 2,98 Kilo. So we calculate that 1 liter of diesel generates 3 kg of carbon dioxide emissions. We multiply that with the total amount of diesel that we put in our tanks and offset our emissions through the Swedish company Tricorona who are developing UN-approved, Kyoto-certified carbon projects to reduce emissions. These projects are certified by the CDM Gold standard which are recognized by the WWF and Tricorona is the biggest company in its field.
How it works:
- Tricorona searches for energy projects that are powered by coal and offer to invest the difference to instead implement the project using a renewable energy source.
- The project is carried out and the renewable energy technology is taken into production.
- The UN audits the project and calculates the difference in carbon dioxide emissions between the cleaner energy source and the amount of energy that would have been generated had it been produced using dirtier techniques.
- The UN keeps track of how many tonnes of “saved emissions” the project delivers and Tricorona receives a certificate for this amount. This is known as Certified Emissions Reduction (CER).
- These carbon dioxide credits are sold as climate compensation for companies that are looking to compensate the climate for their carbon dioxide emissions.
- The UN registers every tonne of climate compensation with a serial number, which is invalidated when it is sold. This guarantees that each tonne will not be sold more than once – and that the climate will benefit as intended.
http://www.tricoronagreen.se
http://wwf.panda.org
The Belzebub Crew challenges all sailors and sailing expeditions to offset their carbon emissions!
