One tank a year!
On April 16 Kolviður – the Iceland Carbon Fund – was formally launched at the National Museum of Iceland. The aim of the Iceland Carbon Fund is to enable individuals, families, companies and organisations to offset their transportation related carbon emissions through tree planting. On this occasion a formal agreement with the Fund’s sponsors – the government of Iceland, Kaupthing Bank and Reykjavík Energy – was signed.
Guðfinna S. Bjarnadóttir is the chair of the board of the Iceland Carbon Fund. “Many people believe that global warming resulting from the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is the greatest environmental challenge we face today. Some countries plan to introduce taxation to fund measures combating climate change. The Iceland Carbon Fund chooses a different approach. We like to give Icelanders, both individuals and corporations, an opportunity to take responsibility for their carbon emissions by voluntarily offsetting them”, says Guðfinna.
The website of the Iceland Carbon Fund – www.kolvidur.is – will be launched May 15, 2007. On the website individuals can calculate their transportation-related carbon emission and pay for the number of trees planted required to offset the emission. As a rule of thumb the fee for one year is roughly equal to the price one refill of fuel – one tank a year!
The idea of founding the Iceland Carbon Fund originally came from the punk band Fræbblarnir. The band held a memorial concert in 2003 for Joe Strummer, lead singer of the band Clash, who was well known for his interest in climate issues. The concert was held in collaboration with the Icelandic Environment Association and the Icelandic Forestry Association, who are the founders of the Fund.
The ideology of the Iceland Carbon Fund is sequestering carbon in the atmosphere through forestry and afforestation, which is an internationally acknowledged method of sequestering carbon and combating climate change, as trees sequester carbon (C) and release oxygen (O2) into the atmosphere. The first Iceland Carbon Fund Forest will be at Geitasandur in the south of Iceland. The offset process will be certified and audited by KPMG Iceland.
Soffía Waag Árnadóttir is the manager of the Iceland Carbon Fund. “We sense a great deal of interest in the Iceland Carbon Fund amongst both individuals and corporations. When the website launches May 15, all Icelanders can get involved in this exciting project”, say Soffía.
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