After a meeting of the United Nations Environmental Protection Programme, four countries lead the race to become the world’s first carbon neutral country. In the running for the ultimate ecological accolade are Costa Rica, Iceland, Norway and New Zealand.
All four contenders receive most of their energy from renewable resources, with Iceland almost reaching carbon neutrality in the heating of buildings and electricity. Only 1% of homes in Iceland are powered by fossil fuels, but with one of the biggest car fleets per head on the planet, Iceland still has a lot of work to do to fully cut out carbon emissions.
Last year Costa Rica planted more than 5 million trees to offset their carbon emissions, the biggest ever tree planting exercise in the history of the world. Costa Rica currently run 90% of the country from renewable energy sources, with a 3.5 per cent raise in fossil fuel tax going to the National Forestry Financing Fund. Costa Rica’s banana industry (their main export) also plans to go neutral, but with the countries number of cars and air traffic increasing, the task may be far harder than expected.
Meanwhile, New Zealand has commissioned six government agencies to make their nation carbon neutral by 2012. 50% of the country’s greenhouse gases come from the 40,000 national farms, which compares to an average of 12% for most countries. With New Zealand hosting the World Environment ‘Kick the C02 Habit’ Day, the country has set itself a target of reaching 90% renewable fuel sourcing by 2025.
Norway’s aim to be carbon neutral by 2030 is very ambitious, seeing as they are the third biggest oil exporter on the planet. This hasn’t stopped the Norwegian government joining the European Emissions Trading Scheme and investing a massive $730million in helping to reduce carbon output. This is added to the $2.7 billion promised to neutralize emissions from deforestation, which is estimated to be nearly 20% of the country’s total output. With Norway already using 95% hydro-electricity, it seems like their 2030 deadline is starting to look very achievable.
So who will win this race to be the world’s first carbon neutral country? All four countries have a great chance, but my money is on Costa Rica, whose massive tree planting initiative should be able to offset their carbon emissions fare quicker than the more built up countries. But shouldn’t the question really be:-
Why are only four countries worldwide trying to gain this auspicious honour in the first place?
