Letter To The Editor

letterstotheeditor1I received this email in response to my recent post about carbon offsets. I feel that it’s only fair to share it here. I stand by my opinion, you are free to change yours.
Hi Meesha- Thanks for your interest in the Carbon Advice Group. I assure you and your readers that the Carbon Advice Group is legitimate. Your money will go to your choice of the listed projects.
While I understand your analysis and comparison to Medieval Indulgences, I think there is an important distinction: the intent and use of our carbon offsets is to create New Solutions (our offsets fund wind and biomass energy programs), not to merely wipe away guilt. Carbon Offsets do not absolve anyone of our responsibility to the environment- they DO represent a great way to raise awareness of the carbon footprint we each create and contribute an equivalent amount of money to supporting cleaner energy alternatives.

Here is the commitment statement you were looking for, taken from our “What We Do” page:
The Carbon Advice Group provides its offsetting service using a range of accredited carbon offsets that meet the relevant international standards, such as VCS (Voluntary Carbon Standard) as well as Certified Emissions Reduction certificates (CERs) provided by the United Nations. CERs are endorsed by DEFRA and guarantee effective global reduction of carbon emissions through regulated projects.rial role in the new green economy. Rather than buying carbon offsets from someone you don’t know off a large website, you can either set up your own site to raise awareness by selling them, or buy them from an affiliate site through your sister/co-worker/teacher/etc. We see being a carbon offset affiliate as a way to localize the green movement and be compensated for your efforts.

Please contact me directly with any questions.
Kind Regards,
Murray

*link to the site removed