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Calculating Greenhouse Gases Personal Choices

HKCCF CDP Program on HKCCF CDP Program on Climate ChangeClimate Change

Dr. Jeanne NgHong Kong People’s Council for Sustainable Development

21st September 2010

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Reviewing Your Lifestyle How we invest our

money Food Clothing Shelter Travel Products Services Leisure Charity

Buy goods and services that are socially and environmentally responsibly produced.

Buy from companies that are CSR, etc.

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Reviewing Your LifestyleNecessities of Life Clothing Food & Drink Shelter Transport

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Some Emissions CalculatorsWWF Climateers.Org www.Climateers.org is Hong Kong's personal climate change info

and action portal. As Climateer, not only can you stay on top of the science and

happenings about global warming both in Hong Kong and worldwide, our innovative carbon calculator, tailor-made for Hong Kong, can also help you determine your personal carbon emissions. Once you know your carbon footprint, you can identify areas in your life in which you could reasonably reduce your emissions, slim down your carbon figure to improve the health of the planet.

We'll direct you to low carbon products and connect you with the growing mass of individuals, businesses and organizations who are getting hip to the climate change crises.

(http://www.climateers.org/eng/change/index.htm )

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Some Emissions CalculatorsClimate Care Calculator Clean up your CO2 emissions quickly and efficiently, just

by using one or more of our Carbon Calculators. For all your daily emissions, click through to our Car &

Home Calculator. There you can repair your impact on global warming, by offsetting the CO2 you produce driving your car(s) and heating and lighting your home.

A return trip from London to New York for one individual, generates more CO2 than driving a family car for 3 months. Air travel is climate-costly, so offset your aviation today using our Air Travel Calculator.

Too busy to calculate your offsets? Then just go straight to our new Fixed Offset Options where you'll find an offset to fit every pocket.

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Some Emissions CalculatorsFuture Forests Carbon Calculator On this site you can 'neutralize' the contribution

you or your business makes to global warming. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are one of the main causes of global warming. And we all produce it from almost everything we do - from running a business to boiling a kettle. Household Calculator Flight Calculator Travel Calculator

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Some Emissions CalculatorsEcological Footprint Sustainability means achieving satisfying lives

for all within the means of nature - now and in the future. The extent to which we're using more than nature can provide can be measured with the Ecological Footprint. This information points us to actions that can address fundamental sustainability concerns, and it gives us a way to measure our progress. Check it out and see how you are doing. Happy?

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Some Emissions CalculatorsGlobal Footprint Supports a sustainable economy by promoting the

Ecological Footprint, a tool that makes sustainability measurable. We coordinate research and develop methodological standards so that decision makers have robust resource accounts to ensure that we live within the Earth's budget.

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Some Emissions CalculatorsSustainable Table (USA) Has been developed to give you many

reasons to eat sustainably, but, ultimately, only you can answer that question…

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Some Carbon Offset ProgramsWhich Are Credible? Many offset programs…just Google and you’ll see… Independent verification

Official trading mechanisms: CDM, Chicago Climate Exchange, etc.

Regulators: Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator, NSW Government, etc.

Specialist Consultants: Green-e, Environmental Resources Trust, etc.

Consultants: KPMG, Ernst & Young, etc. The Gold Standard

CDM, JI and voluntary credits(http://www.cdmgoldstandard.org/index.php)

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Some Carbon Offset ProgramsHow Much Does It Cost?As at 20 September 2010…

Voluntary credits ~ US$3 – 99 / ton CO2

http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/carbon_offset_wind_credits_carbon_reduction.htm

Tradeable credits (CDM, JI, etc.) ~ Euro 13 / ton CO2

http://www.pointcarbon.com/

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Some Carbon Offset ProgramsMyClimate "Sustainable Travel International now offers

MyClimate™, "a unique service that reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Through the MyClimate™ program, travelers, corporations, travel service providers, and academic institutions can take concrete action to fight climate change by investing in WWF-certified carbon offset projects that help to neutralize the negative impacts of their air and ground travel." They also have a " Travelers' Philanthropy" program.

Otherwise they have their own carbon calculator for estimating the necessary offsets, and a choice of WWF approved projects for your money

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Some Carbon Offset ProgramsThe Climate Trust Is a leading non-profit organization dedicated to providing

solutions to stabilize our rapidly changing climate The Climate Trust Offset Program invests funds received

from power plants, businesses, and individuals into projects that offset their GHG emissions.

The Program is aimed at "Large Emitters" (power plants and the like), the "Donate-to-Offset Organizations program" and a parallel program for employees of cooperating organizations .

Climate Trust is a US based non-profit, and the income received from the various offers is invested into their project portfolio which includes: energy efficiency, renewable energy, cogeneration, transportation efficiency, and reforestation projects.

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Some Carbon Offset ProgramsThe CarbonNeutral Company The CarbonNeutral Company (formerly Future Forests)

maintains a number of carbon offset and forestry projects, and has its own range of Carbon Calculators to work out your personal emissions.

They also have a simple CarbonNeutral Citizen's program which gives you an opportunity to make an annual donation that will go at least part way to compensate for your life style choices.

In their cases the money received for charitable donations has been directed, for the past three years, towards Transparency International's Forestry Integrity Network, which campaigns against bribery and corruption in management and exploitation of the world's natural resources.

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Some Carbon Offset ProgramsClimate Care Climate Care offers organizations and individuals a way

to reduce their impact on global warming. It sells carbon offsets on the one hand while funding and

managing projects on the other. They also have an ingenious Fixed Offsets program

which allows you to pay by credit card for your calculated life style emissions.

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Your Life, Your Choice There are many paths to sustainable living

Can change lifestyles immediately Can make changes incrementally

Begin making your choices today and continue implementing them regularly

What we can do is do the best

we can every day…

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Sources & References Organizations/ Initiatives

Communities by Choice (www.CommunitiesbyChoice.org)

SocialFunds.com (Google “socially responsible investment” for more)

The Commons: Open Society Sustainability Initiative (www.ecoplan.org)

Publications Thinking about forever –

a personal journey (Communities by Choice)

How we can save the planet, Mayer Hillman (with Tina Fawcett), 2004