European lawmakers in an influential parliamentary committee want Europe to buy its way out of making serious CO2 emissions cuts by paying other countries, mostly in the developing world, to make the cuts on its behalf.
In a narrow 21 to 20 vote, MEPs in the parliament's industry committee elected to back an increase by a third on the European Commission's original proposals for the amount of "carbon offsets" European member states may use towards their carbon reduction targets.
Carbon offsets are no alternative to making emissions cuts ourselves, say environmentalists (Photo: EUobserver.com)
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The use of offsets would apply to those sectors that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the EU's emissions trading scheme such as buildings and transport.
From supermarkets that claim to be "carbon-neutral" to the eco-conscious lead-singer of pop-band Coldplay saying he makes up for all the carbon emissions he is responsible for when he flies off in his private jet by paying people in Indonesia to plant mango trees for him, carbon offsets allow people to keep on polluting so long as they pay others to make up the difference.
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