How big is the carbon footprint of the GW conference in Bali this week?

Question

How many celebrities flew private jets in to address the conference? Wouldn't it be better to do all that sort of thing via satellite feed from localized spots? Or did the royalty just want a nice holiday in a tropical paradise?

I think I already know the answer.

Answer 1

According to a recent article from Bloomberg.com -

"Government officials and activists flying to Bali, Indonesia, for the United Nations meeting on climate change will cause as much pollution as 20,000 cars in a year.

The delegates each will produce an average 4.07 metric tons of carbon dioxide, or CO2, to reach the resort island 950 kilometers (600 miles) from Jakarta, according to estimates e- mailed to Bloomberg by the UN agency holding the conference.

Some of the 187 nations participating in the two-week forum promised to offset their so-called carbon footprint by planting trees or buying emission credits. The symbolic actions won't help stop global warming, some scientists say.

``It's very hard for the public to understand that you come together with so many people to a very distant place and cause a lot of emissions, and at the same time talk about emission reductions,'' Artur Runge-Metzger, head of climate strategy for the European Commission, said yesterday in an interview in Bali, adding that he had offset his own emissions."

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The article states later that -

"The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the conference organizer, failed to get governments to include offsetting projects in the group's budget, said Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the convention. Some of the 10,000 attendees to this year's meeting, held in air-conditioned rooms at the tropical beach resort, planned their own projects.

Proposals Abound

Indonesia will plant 79 million trees to offset the entire conference's emissions, Emil Salim, head of the host country's delegation, told reporters yesterday in Bali. The Asian nation is investigating how to develop its tree-planting activity to ensure a lasting offset, said Amanda Katili, special assistant to Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar."

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With this little part included...

"EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas and three of his staff are buying so-called carbon credits, each representing a reduction of a ton of carbon dioxide, on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, commission spokeswoman Barbara Helfferich said in a telephone interview.

$132 `Out of Pocket'"

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I just love that kind of message - you know the kind... The message that states "I'll just throw money at the problem - whether or not the money will actually do anything positive, I'll throw money at it..."

Make no mistake: In most cases, "the royalty" as you put it really don't "change" their own manner of living. The Church of Global Warming's "Pope" (Al Gore) and his priests, bishops, and alter boys - governments, scientists, and celebrities - don't overly change their lifestyle, they just throw more money at the issue. Then the sermon tells all of the church membership (global warming believers) - as well as the "unbelieving infidel" (skeptics) - that everyone else needs to actually CHANGE the way we live...

I do my part to be more "environmentally friendly" - but I don't have a lot of "disposable income" to throw at a carbon offset or to sooth my environmental conscience with... I have actually made changes that I can afford, yet I'm still being told that I'm NOT DOING ENOUGH...

I guess that's why I'm one of the "unbelieving infidels"...

Answer 2

TOO big...I've been saying the same thing. This should have been a teleconference rather than a free vacation in Bali--at least, if any of these people involved REALLY cared about the issue. What a farce.

Answer 3

The hypocrisy is staggering. The man who "invented the internet" should have them teleconference the whole deal but they all fly in on private jets and arrive in limos and have a vacation on our dime.
Their mission statement should read "do as we say-not as we do".
The best way to start saving the earth would be to defund these elitist global hypoctrites.

Answer 4

Does it really matter?

It's the outward appearance of caring that counts. While the attendees are not actually doing anything productive, they're morally superior to everyone.

And that, my friend, helps the environment