In the discussion about the report from the WMF relating to
sustainability, mention was made of the potential use of carbon
offset. As part of planning a conference for next year, we could ask
or require participants to factor in payments for carbon offset. With
no experience in examining carbon offset projects, we are cautious
about making any policy to do this, in particular it would be a bad
blunder if we start paying in to a carbon offset project that turns
out to be a bad or controversial choice later on.
Has the WMF or Affiliates made any prior choices for carbon offset
projects, or could the community work out which of the many projects
might be the most ethically responsible and well governed to choose
from?
An a bonus to tack on, we have used phrases like ''encouraging greener
travel options'', which one might interpret as doing things like
preferring train travel rather than using flights within the same
country. However if, say, a participant can fly within the country at
half the cost and get to an event in a couple of hours rather than
spending several times longer travelling, is it a reasonable/ethical
approach to just fly for convenience and buy some carbon offset
"points" (and so flying may well still be significantly cheaper than
going by train).
Thanks,
Fae
--
faewik(a)gmail.com
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae