Carbon credits for Christmas: Friends of the Irish Environment has found a novel way to protest at the Irish Government's lack of urgency in tackling growing carbon dioxide emissions.
The non-governmental organisation purchased carbon emission trading credits (at €22 a ton) from the European Carbon Trading Exchange and are now selling them on as Christmas gifts. "Last week's Budget allocated €20 million for carbon credits which must be purchased on the European exchange to compensate for Ireland exceeding its Kyoto greenhouse gas limits," said an FIE spokesperson. Its rational for selling them is that every tonne of credits bought by FIE supporters is one less tonne available to industry. "This isn't about making money [ FIE is selling the credits for €25 a ton which includes a colour certificate]. It's about making a point. Pollution is costing us money because the Government has to buy these credits rather than reducing pollution . . . the polluter is not paying," he added. See www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.net
Peak visitors face car charge
Visitors to the Peak District National Park in England may soon have to pay a congestion charge in a new measure to reduce traffic. Britain's oldest national park is now believed to be the second most popular in the world, with 22 million day visits per year. Most of those coming to the park arrive by car and traffic jams frequently build up. Transport co-ordinators for the park are now pushing for an environmental levy to apply to all cars entering the park. This may herald congestion charges for other beauty spots across Britain. The Lake District has also proposed higher parking charges for visitors to the area.
Stop off at ENFO
Anyone looking for some respite from Christmas shopping next week should pop into ENFO, the environmental information centre at 17 St Andrews Street, Dublin. Apart from the wealth of information on Christmas recycling centres (pick up a copy of 10 steps to a better environment - a festive guide), it also hosts an exhibition entitled, Garden Bird Detectives: Discover Birds on Your Doorstep. This exhibition, which runs from Monday until January 13th is based on Birdwatch Ireland's annual garden bird survey. The previously advertised exhibition of wildlife photographs by Diarmuid O Grada, Butterflies and Little Eyes has been postponed. Opening hours: 10am-5.30pm Monday to Saturday (Closed Dec 24-28th and Jan 2nd) Admission free. Tel:01 8883911. See also www.enfo.ie
Keeping an honest account
The ESB received the 2005 Sustainability Reporting Award this year. The judges noted that the ESB report clearly acknowledged and explained the environmental impact of company operations and policies. Janseen Pharmaceutical received a special award for sustainability reporting and Novartis in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork also received a commendation for the quality of their reporting.