A Critical Conversation on Climate Change ... - Green Choices

290 development dialogue september 2006 – carbon tradingDidn’t anybody question whether two people in Washington had the right todecide what the alternative energy future of Durban might be?How? Information dissemination and public consultation on the projectproposal were carried out over the internet, to which only a small minorityof the local community have access. Time allocated for objectionsin late 2004 was a mere 10 days. And few outside the immediatearea were either interested in or aware of what was going on.Meanwhile, Durban officials claimed that without the usd 15 millionprovided by the Prototype Carbon Fund, they would not bothertrying to recover the methane as fuel, since the electricity generatedin the process costs so much more per kilowatt hour than the localpower utility charges for its coal-fired power. 139All right, fair enough. But assuming that’s true, all it proves is that continuedraw methane release and coal-fi red power is a choice that would have a reasonableeconomic rationale, not that it is the only choice that could be made.That’s all that’s required, under the rules, for the project to createcarbon credits.The fence separatingthe dumpsite fromthe surroundingcommunities.All right. But who would buy carbon credits from the dump?All PCF investors get pro rata shares of PFC project credits. These investorsinclude British Petroleum, Mitsubishi, Deutsche Bank, Tokyo ElectricPower, Gaz de France and RaboBank, as well as the governments ofthe Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Canada, Sweden and Japan.Is this a good thing for local people who live around the dump?That depends a lot on who you ask.Well, what does the PCF say?The PCF says that improving the ‘financial position of DSW’ wouldalso benefit local people and send a ‘clear signal’ to them that ‘theenvironment is a number-one concern in South Africa and is beingdealt with in the best way possible’.And what does the local community say?Again, that depends on who you ask. But let’s start with Sajida Khan,a member of the Indian community on the border of the dump.Khan, who was diagnosed in 1996 with cancer, and whose nephewdied of leukaemia, had this to say in 2002: ‘To gain the emissionsreductions credits they will keep this site open as long as possible.Which means the abuse will continue as long as possible so they can