It’s complicated. This is how last week’s issue of climate compensation can be summarized. Thanks for all the input! The original question was about how an entrepreneur in western Dalarna could become “climate neutral” even though he is linked to the municipality’s not-so-fossil-free district heating system. We have dived into all the different ideas during the week and in summary, the network has crystallized the following advice for the entrepreneur:
- It is not possible to become “climate neutral” by investing elsewhere, but it is certainly not wrong to donate money to various environmental or social projects anyway. Just call it climate finance instead.
- District heating is climate-smart. Try to influence the municipality to reduce its carbon footprint instead of stepping off the network.
- Invest in your own fund to build up capital to invest in your own solar cell plant in the long run.
- Team up with a nearby university and carry out a joint project.
Doing exactly the right thing might not be easy, but as long as we do something, it’s better than nothing. But it is important to realize the complexity. We need to phase out fossil fuels NOW to ensure that we don’t make the situation even worse, and we need to create lots of carbon sinks NOW to bind up the carbon dioxide we have already emitted, in combination with geological storage (CCS) when possible.
Behind the scenes at Greengoat
When it’s time to write the weekly blog post, this is what it sounds like at Greengoat:
- We must write about the Taxonomy.
- I’m hungry.
- Hydrogen! Everyone must be super interested in that, right?
- How come we only write about climate issues, never about social sustainability?
- Why even write? Who wants to read it anyway?
- I think it’s time to write about trucks and excavators!
The trucks and excavators bullet deadly serious. One of the goats has dug herself into the issue completely just try riding a car with her. It never takes more than five minutes for her to discover a truck and start an engaged discussion around superstructures, lifting capacity, axle pressure and demountable trucks. Just forget any other conversations, such as ice thickness for skating and chard soup for example. It is interesting, absolutely, based on how different players in that industry play their ards when it comes to sustainability. While some set scientific climate targets, others haven’t even started working with their footprint. So, before you know it, we may have a blog post about trucks, or about ice and chard soup for that matter.
If you have managed to read all the way here – tell us what you would like to read more about!
