While most of us dither about on climate change, setting targets that hardly trouble the double figures, six countries have announced that they are to go carbon-neutral. Here’s the list:
- Costa Rica
- Iceland
- Norway
- New Zealand
- Monaco
- The Maldives
They’ve all done it at different points over the last couple of years, and have different timetables, The Maldives announcing it this weekend. “The Maldives is a small country with only 300,000 people” said President Moosa of the island nation. “It will be very acheivable.”
A small population is a common factor among these countries, although Norway and New Zealand will have a slightly bigger task on their hands. That makes them perfect fore-runners and test beds for new technologies and planning schemes.
The Maldives aims for carbon neutral status in just ten years, mainly through renewable energy. New Zealand has a target of 2025, and is trialling an emissions trading scheme. Norway intends to buy credits, which is cheating, and of course exports oil and natural gas, so it’s in a somewhat compromised position. Costa Rica has made it into a kind of game. They were the fifth to announce their plan, but are determined to get there first, their Environment and Energy minister describing it as a ‘carbon-neutral World Cup’.
Whatever their motivations, the rest of the world should be watching these six pioneers very carefully.
The Earthbound Report 