The increased awareness of global warming has led to an increase in carbon offset, but poor countries are lacking the monetary needs to take action, which is making problems worse. Poor countries are paying high fees to consultants from rich countries in order to have a carbon offset project. The World Bank contracts services of Det Norske Veritas (DNV), which visits these projects. The fees that are charged by DNV are high and the timeline of these projects are long. This presents very difficult obstacles for countries that do not have the means to pay the high fees. The fees greatly affect small business owners, such as farmers, who have to take out loans to pay for the projects. These expensive carbon offset projects are creating more problems for countries that have enough problems already.
Source: Erlich, Reese (2010, Aug). “Poorer nations hit with high fees for carbon offset projects,” The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/25/carbon-offset-consultancy-fees
Student Researcher: Alex Allen
Faculty Evaluator: Eric J. Ziegelmayer, PhD