Going for energy gold in Beijing

Beijing, China – With just 400 days to go until the 2008 Beijing Olympics, WWF is encouraging athletes competing in the games to “win gold” by offsetting their carbon emissions through dependable climate change reduction projects.

Airplaines are responsible for 3.5% per cent of global warming from all human activities, releasing more than 600 million tonnes of CO2.

On average, each athlete flying to Beijing will be responsible for releasing about 4 tonnes of CO2. Some 10,000 athletes are expected to compete in the Olympic Games, and together with the thousands of spectators coming from around the world, the event will inject hundreds of thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

With the click of a mouse
WWF is working with several offset organizations that will allow athletes, supporters, the media, and anyone else planning to travel to the Olympic Games to easily calculate their relevant CO2 emissions through a carbon calculator, and give ideas of where to donate to a number of recommended offset projects.

With a few clicks of the computer mouse, athletes can offset their emissions by supporting wind turbine projects in New Zealand, Alaska, Madagascar and Turkey; solar projects in the US, Eritrea and Costa Rica; or a biomass project in India. Many of the projects are Gold Standard-approved.

“It’s as simple as clicking a button on the web to add the environmental costs of your flight" said Dermot O’Gorman, head of the WWF China.

"An average investment of around US$100 means a double win, as an immediate boost to some worthwhile projects and as a push to the clean energy market.”

WWF recommends the following carbon emission offset calculators: Climate Friendly; MyClimate; Atmosfair; and NativeEnergy.