The B.C. government made a self-righteous announcement last week. In its new climate action legislation, all provincial ministries and agencies, schools, colleges, universities, health authorities, and Crown Corporations must become "carbon neutral" by 2010. Sounds good, but just what does "carbon neutral" mean Does it mean man-made carbon dioxide levels will be lower And how much is this going to cost

To become carbon neutral, a company would either reduce its own emissions or offset the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) it creates by buying credits from a project that has lower emissions.

At least one aspect of this proposal could translate into taxpayer savings. Starting in 2008, government organizations are supposed to reduce emissions on government business travel. This should mean less flying around to places such as Interior resorts for four-day, $20,000 retreats for a dozen senior bureaucrats from the Ministry of Children and Family Development, for example. To be sure, the government didn't need to use climate change as an excuse to stop this type of boondoggle. So there may be one positive effect from CO2 reductions, just maybe not the one intended.

But what about carbon offsets Will these be a good deal for taxpayers Not likely. Carbon offsets are credits for emission reductions. The government calculates the amount of CO2 it emits then pays a levy to renewable energy sources such as wind power, or to plant trees. 
So, the government can be "carbon neutral," because it makes up for the amount of CO2 it produces by funding eco-friendly projects elsewhere. They are still emitting just as much CO2 as before, but now they can feel good about it. All at taxpayer expense, of course.

B.C. produced about 67 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalent) in 2005, roughly 9% of Canada's total emissions. The B.C. government's stated goal of reducing emissions by 33% from 2007 levels by 2020 means we need reduce our CO2 emissions by about 30 million tonnes. This won't be easy. To emit one tonne of CO2 you would need to travel 3,200 kilometers in an airplane. But, to offset that you would need to run one 600 kilowatt wind turbine for an average year or plant an acre of Douglas fir trees. The amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere on a return flight between Vancouver and Victoria is 0.056 tonnes at a cost (estimated by www.offsetters.ca) of $1.05. The taxpayer will have to plant an awful lot of trees to come up with an offset of 30 million tonnes of CO2.

So, how much is all this going to cost The B.C. government offers no estimates, but a report from the UK based Taxpayers Alliance shows that the UK sends a subsidy of almost $1 billion to other EU countries in exchange for hot air in its effort to become carbon neutral. It also shows that public sector organizations in the UK did a bad job at trading emissions. One hospital lost almost $600,000 in the emissions trading scheme. That would pay for about 600 MRI scans in a private clinic in Vancouver.

Not only will carbon neutrality probably cost an arm and a leg, it provides no guarantee that man-made CO2 emissions will fall. Although CO2 reductions may result in welcome savings in a day and age when in-person meetings are seldom a technological necessity, offsets could have significant unintended consequences. Hospitals already have enough challenges, and now their bureaucrats are going to spend time and money trading CO2 Just a thought, but maybe reducing surgical wait times should be a higher priority. B.C. taxpayers will be paying big time for feel good messages that may have little or no benefit. This is very costly hot air.