Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Zero-Carbon for Sao Paulo Carnival

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 24 2007 (IPS) - Greenhouse gases produced by Sao Paulo's Carnival, Feb. 16-24, will be “compensated” by the planting of trees through an agreement with the environmental group SOS Mata Atlantica. It was an “ecologically correct” Carnival, says Caio de Carvalho, president of Sao Paulo Tourism, an office of the municipal government.

The project is important for raising awareness about the problem of global warming, but it should not create a feeling of “I've done my duty,” without true changes for curbing greenhouse gas emissions, Rubens Born, coordinator of the environmental group Vitae Civilis, told Tierramérica.

The initiative to join the global “zero carbon” movement complies with an official rule, adopted Jan. 24, which requires compensating for the carbon emissions produced by public events in municipal parks and other venues.