Richard Branson’s new climate project unveiled

From the New Mexico Independent - by Laura Paskus - CANCÚN, MEXICO — On Monday, Kevin Conrad, special envoy and ambassador for environment and climate change, Papua New Guinea, unveiled a new project from Sir Richard Branson. The Carbon War Room is a US-based nonprofit that “harnesses the power of entrepreneurs to implement market-driven solutions to climate change.” One of the features of its website is a tool to measure shipping efficiency. According to a press release from the Carbon War Room:
Shipping produces almost 1 gigaton of carbon dioxide emissions each year, or a thousand million tonnes, more than the total emissions of Germany. The Carbon War Room saw an opportunity to support its ambitions of rapid, large-scale emissions reduction by entrepreneurial means, in targeting the sector. They, and others, have estimated that there is more than 30% profitable efficiency potential on current technology.
The Carbon War Room’s homepage offers a scrolling list of dramatic facts, such as:
3,641,114 MILLION TONS OF CO₂E IN THE ATMOSPHERE IN 2009
Atmospheric concentrations of CO₂e are rising due to increasing anthropogenic emissions. Unchecked, rising concentrations of CO₂e in the atmosphere will lead to catastrophic climate change.
and:
Public electricity and heating in Annex I countries accounted for over 6.68 billion tons of CO₂e emissions annually in 2007.
and:
4,626,841 THOUSAND TONS OF CO₂E IN 2007Transport is responsible for approximately 20% of global anthropogenic emissions, or more than 4.63 billion tons of CO₂e annually. Source: UNFCCC, 2009.
There’s no mention, however, of one of Branson’s own projects, New Mexico’s Spaceport America, emissions from which are expected to accelerate climate change. Read more

Richard Branson’s new climate project unveiled