Upsetting the Offset - Transnational Institute

Cases
fishmeal from the pig production sector continues to increase (from 20 percent
of global fishmeal supply in 1988 to 29 percent in 2000)’. 24 A Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) of Danish pig production shows, for example, that: ‘The
environmental impacts were 3.77 kg CO2 eq. global warming potential, 319 g
NO3 eq. eutrophication potential, 59 g SO2 eq. acidification potential, and 1.27
g ethene eq. photochemical smog potential per kg Danish pork delivered to
Harwich Harbour’. 25 In addition to all these environmental consequences, we
can add that the spreading of diseases, such as human influenza, has become
associated to industrial pig production. At a time when swine flu had not
reached the pandemic status we are facing today, Mike Davis had already
exposed the deep connections between new types of human influenza and
industrial pig production. 26
Pig producers in Latin America can take advantage of the CDM since the
abatement of GHGs caused by pig production in a Non-Annex B country can
generate carbon credits to be traded within carbon markets. The Chilean
company Agrosuper is the world’s eighth largest pork producer. Using vertical
integration, cutting-edge corporate communication systems and even web pages
in Japanese and English, the company is a global player in the food industry. 27
The company has produced and exchanged carbon credits from swine manure
management by registering several CDM projects, and it has recently submitted
another CDM project. After an evaluation process Agrosuper’s CDM projects
have been accepted. (One project was rejected by the CDM board, but it has
since been re-submitted for approval). Once accepted, Agrosuper’s credits have
been successfully traded in the carbon market. 28 The first operation was
formally signed in the Regional offices of FAO in 2004 with attendance of the
Chilean ministers of energy, economics and environment as well as companies’
representatives. The national media announced this operation as one of the
biggest sales of carbon credits at that time, and a corporate film about this
CDM project can even be found on YouTube. 29
The CDM projects of Agrosuper are labeled either as methane capture and
combustion from swine manure treatment or as advanced swine manure
treatment. 30 The technologies used in the projects have been developed by
Agrosuper and basically consist of the capture and burning of methane, which
means that methane is converted into CO2, a GHG that has a lower GWP.
Agrosuper presents its participation in carbon trading as follows: ‘Voluntarily
decreasing the emission of greenhouse gases, Agrosuper has become the first
agro-industrial company to generate Certified Greenhouse Gas Reductions
(Carbon bonuses).’ 31
The Japanese Tepco and the Canadian TransAlta Corporation, two
companies 32 operating in Annex I countries and needing to offset their
emissions to accomplish KP goals in their countries, purchased Agrosuper’s
credits. TransAlta announced the operation in the following terms: ‘With
emission trades like this one, TransAlta is able to cost effectively take action
now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions’. 33 In the case of Tepco, this carbon
offset operation is presented in its ‘Sustainability report 2008’ 34 as a case of
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