Toyako (Japan), July 6: Toilets that take on a life of their own, eco-cars coming sooner than you might think and security on Segways have cast 2008’s G8 summit in a decidedly green hue.
Japan has made climate change the overarching theme of 2008’s meeting of rich nations and reminders to be environmentally aware are everywhere, down to the summit logo depicting a sprouting plant. Environment-related booths dominate the entrance to the international media centre, including a bank of computer screens headlined "Let’s carbon offset!"
With a few keystrokes, you can calculate your emissions from attending this week’s summit in northern Japan, then choose a project to contribute to in order to stay "carbon neutral".
A reporter coming from Singapore, flying from Tokyo to Hokkaido and staying in a hotel for five nights, for example, needs to offset 2.72 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
A little more than $250 of investment in an afforestation project in Hokkaido will pay for three carbon offsets, in this case three trees that will reduce three tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 30 years.
"Not so many" people have stopped by to erase their carbon footprint, admitted Ai Kimura of KPMG AZSA Sustainability, which is running the project on the Japanese government’s behalf.
She said Japan plans to offset the entire summit once all the emissions are calculated, with preliminary estimates at around 25,000 tonnes of CO2.
US President George W. Bush, who was initially sceptical of the link between human activity and global warming, arrived in Hokkaido on Sunday.
White House staff gathered in the conference room on Air Force One just before arrival to celebrate his birthday, President Bush turned 62 on Sunday, with a coconut cake carrying one candle.
"We all said ‘surprise’ and he dutifully pretended to be surprised," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
Senior staff gave Mr Bush a wooden box made from a scarlet oak that fell on White House grounds in October 2007, Ms Perino said. —Reuters
