Brazil garbage dump could be climate trailblazer
Brazilian garbage dump could be a trailblazer for thousands of projects in developing nations under a U.N. plan to battle global warming, a Norwegian company said Wednesday.
Coal mines in China, hydro-electric plants in Chile and wind farms in Morocco could follow under a scheme giving companies in rich countries economic incentives to invest in cutting emissions of heat-trapping gases in the Third World.
"We expect significant growth in this market," said Einar Telnes, technical director of Norway's DNV, which checked and certified the Brazilian project. It was the first registered under the U.N.'s "Clean Development Mechanism" last month.
In the giant landfill at Nova Gerar in Rio de Janeiro state, methane from rotting garbage will be burned to generate electricity. That will stop the fumes from adding to global warming, dampen dangers of explosions and bring new income.
Dutch investors in the scheme will be able to claim the prevented methane emissions, equivalent to 670,000 tonnes of heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) a year, as credits back home.In a fledgling European Union market, CO2 allowances are worth about 8.25 euros ($10.98) per tonne.
Elsewhere around the globe, Telnes said about 200-300 clean energy projects were nearing certification in developing nations with perhaps another 1,200-1,300 on the drawing board.
"In the long term I wouldn't be surprised if we saw between 500 and 1,000 projects coming on every year," Telnes told Reuters. DNV, perhaps best known for checking ship designs, is a world leader in certifying environmental schemes.
(From Reuters, Dezembro 01, 2004)
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