Charity: water Close
forgive us our carbon output

Conscience, Environment: forgive us our carbon output

Posted by Mikki Brammer on September 19, 2007 | 1 COMMENT

Via The New York Times: This summer, the cardinals at the Vatican accepted an unusual donation from a Hungarian start-up called Klimafa: The company said it would plant trees to restore an ancient forest on a denuded stretch of land by the Tisza River to offset the Vatican’s carbon emissions. The trees, on a 37-acre tract of land that will be renamed the Vatican climate forest, will in theory absorb as much carbon dioxide as the Vatican will produce in 2007: driving cars, heating offices, lighting St. Peter’s Basilica at night. In so doing, the Vatican announced, it would become the world’s first carbon-neutral state. Read all about it here.

 
  • Lauren

    Not being a highly ‘religious’ person, especially in the Catholic sense, I think that the Vatican’s claim to be the first carbon neutral state is a little unfair. It’s kind of like that phrase, ‘It was the least I could do’. While people use it in a positive sense, you’re really saying ‘I could only be bothered to do this much’. Do you think there is more that the Vatican could do to meet Klimafa in the middle and reduce emissions first? Or is any step a good step in the right direction?