TheCompensators* have signed a letter addressed to Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council. The letter was initiated by our friends of Sandbag, a British campaign group which tries to public awareness on emissions trading.

In the letter Van Rompuy is urged to move to a reduction of emissions across the European Union by 30%, if not more. This target has already been reached halfway, showing that reducing emissions is possible. What is more, the EU is in a unique position to be a role model to the rest of the world by setting ambitious targets. TheCompensators* wholeheartedly support this cause.

If you would like to sign the letter, please follow this link.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.

We have transferred our website to a new hoster. Therefore, some of our webpages may not work well… Have you found something that does not work? Please write us a short e-mail to info_at_thecompensators_dot_org.

Our contribution to go back to 350ppm on the 350 Climate Action Day, October 24th, 2009.

We can report that, with your help during our recent actions, we have  been able to purchase and today delete 287 EUAs, which bring us to the total amount of 350 EUAs deleted since this Summer. Please have a look at the transaction Transaction voucher DE-83615 here.

Eco-activists strive to raise the price of carbon

Cap and trade is a system designed to let developed countries piggyback on the climate friendly aspects of much of the developed world. But is the price they pay really high enough?

Read more or listen directly to the radio feature.

Löschen fürs Klima: Wie Umwelt-Aktivisten den Preis für Emissionsrechte erhöhen. Von Richard Fuchs. SWR2 Impuls vom 5.11.2009 (4:34 Min.) Listen to it.

Activists cut CO2 by buying and eliminating emissions certificates

The non-profit group TheCompensators* buy CO2 emissions allowances on the European market; but rather than re-selling them at a higher price, it aims to get rid of them.

Read more.

Kaufen und wegwerfen für einen guten Zweck

In Berlin haben Wissenschaftler einen Verein gegründet, der das EU-Emissionshandelssystem nutzen will, um der Atmosphäre viele Tonnen Treibhausgase zu ersparen. Er kauft Verschmutzungsrechte – um sie dann zu vernichten.

Read more.

Deutschland sucht die Klimakanzlerin – mit TheCompensators*

Der Klimawandel scheint aus der politischen Debatte verschwunden. Und dass, obwohl der entscheidende Klimagipfel in Kopenhagen vor der Tür steht. Deshalb schlugen Klima-Aktivisten jetzt Alarm: mit einer Quiz-Show.

Mehr online bei der Deutschen Welle.

We have done it! On the 350.org Climate Action Day on Saturday, 24 October we have deleted 350 tonnes of CO2 thanks to donations of our members and supporters.

With a bit of assistance from the Heavens, 350 tonnes of CO2 were destroyed with a bang in front of one of Berlin’s most famous landmarks – the Brandenburg Gate. In a symbolic act, an angel burst a balloon filled with emission permits at the Pariser Platz.

Curious? Watch the video!

Can’t wait for our next action!

On Saturday, October 24th, the International Day of Climate Action, a concrete action for climate protection will be taken: TheCompensators* will spare the atmosphere 350 tonnes of CO2.

In a symbolic act, we will burst a balloon filled with emission permits suspended above a stage at the Pariser Platz, in front of the Brandenburg Gate at 12.15. This way 350 tonnes of CO2 will be destroyed with a bang.

The emission permits were purchased and deleted by TheCompensators* using donated funds – the pollution rights will no longer be available to industry.

Be in Pariser Platz on October 24th at 11.30 a.m.: a TV-show, 350 Chancellors, Angels, Devils and the 350 balloon will be waiting for you!

Join the event on facebook and on 350!

Click here to download the flyer in German.

To know more about the 350 Climate Action day, please visit 350.org

Spread the word, join us on Saturday, become a member or make a donation, whether 3.50, 35.00, or 350.00, euros, dollars, pounds or pesos, your contribution will help buying 350 (or even more!) EUAs, which we will destroy on Saturday, October 24th.

Any questions or suggestions? Contact us!

TheCompensators* would like to thank all the people who attended the Vernissage der Klimaretter and helped deleting 40 Tons of CO2!

***

When? Sunday, October 18^th 2009 from 5 to 8 pm

Where? in Berlin-Neukölln, Karl-Marx-Str. 168 (Atelier Bär – Methane Factory)

Source: Bär + Knell Design

Come along and enjoy a CO2-neutral aperitif as well as the climate friendly artwork of the virtual “Methane Factory” recently founded by the Berlin artist Gerhard Bär. You will also have the opportunity to buy your own emission permits and thus become part of  our “350t CO₂ action“.

Download the flyer and join the event on Facebook!

P.S. You are kindly requested to pay a small entrance fee (min. 3 Euros).

TheCompensators* have entered ! Follow us!

On September 22, TheCompensators* had been invited to present their work at the conference “Reset Kopenhagen”. To know more, read this article on the Reset website or watch the following video!

RESET KOPENHAGEN from RESET For a better world on Vimeo.

We hope you have already heard about 350.org and the 350 ppm climate action day on October 24th…

If not, it’s time to know what 350.org is about

350.org is an international campaign dedicated to building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis–the solutions that justice demand.

The focus is on the number 350–as in parts per million, the level scientists have identified as the safe upper limit for CO₂ in our atmosphere. But 350 is more than a number–it’s a symbol of where we need to head as a planet.

TheCompensators* have met with 350.org and decided to take action together to get 350 t of CO₂ out of the EU ETS on October 24th.

So far TheCompensators* have deleted nearly 2000 EUAs from the EU ETS. Collecting the money to purchase 350 EUAs is feasible.

But we need YOUR HELP!

Spread the word, become a member or make a donation, whether 3.50, 35.00, or 350.00, euros, dollars, pounds or pesos, your contribution will help buying 350 (or even more!) EUAs, which we will delete publicly on October 24th.

Any questions or suggestions? Contact us!

TheCompensators* have just deleted 63 EUAs

Please have a look at our transaction list which documents the 1891 EUAs we have deleted so far!

We can report that we have finally, after a long wait, been able to purchase and delete 215 EUAs as of today. The register now provides data export, so please have a look at our transaction list (including the ones from 2007) here.

We just transferred €4699.45 to our broker and await a lot of around 172 EUAs to be delivered for deletion to our account by next week. Once Hannah is back from Indonesia and the EUAs are ready to be deleted, we will do so and keep you updated on the website.

We could purchase EUAs from Austria and stock them at our brokers account. Deletion and proof in Austria are not possible yet, firstly when the registers are coupled (October). We are discussing whether purchasing and stocking, followed by a deletion once we got the EUAs is the best option to pursue.

The BMU just announced that the registers of the EU and the ones of the UNFCCC will be coupled in October. Until then, the German accounts will be kept closed and no allocations will take place. Thus, it is impossible to purchase EUAs in Germany, until the coupling has taken place. We now inquire whether a purchase in Austria is feasible. If it is, we will do so.

We are still waiting until we can do the first transaction of 2008. Unfortunately we were not able to do a transaction in germany yet. There would be the possibility to do it via Austria, and let the Austrian registry delete the emission allowances, but we do not find this appropriate. We will investigate whether now is the time to do a transaction in Germany, and if not, whether a transaction in Austria can be made with a proof of deletion which we can present. We are grateful for your patience and apologise for any inconveniences.

Up to now it was not possible to obtain EUAs from the registers in Germany. It would have been possible to purchase EUAs in Austria, though, but then we would have not been able to delete them by ourselves. This is why we decided to wait until a purchase in Germany will be possible. Our broker said this would approximately be from July on.

Thus, we will soon get in touch with him to see whether a purchase is possible. In case this is so, we will use 90% our savings to purchase a lot of EUAs which will be retired as soon as we obtain them. As of today we have saved up to € 4 670.55.

The second trading period has already started. We wanted to buy and delete EUAs with the money we have saved up until now. Unfortunately, this is not possible yet, since the registries are not ready yet. Our broker informed us, that trading at the moment is only possible in Austria, the German registry is not ready yet. Thus, we need to wait until we can trade here in Germany, so that we can actually delete the emission allowances from our account at the German national registry. According to our broker, this will be possible late spring or summer this year. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause for you. If you have further questions, please simply contact us via the contact form.

Download our 2007 yearly report (in German) here.

booking voucher 2007-04 can be downloaded here

booking voucher 2007/01- 2007/03 can be downloaded here

Download our first financial stament (2006/10-2006/12) here.

download the financial statement 1-2007 (01/2007-06/2007) here.

We are Utopisten! (source: http://www.utopia.de/wissen/thema-des-monats/55-utopisten-aus-deutschland)

So unterschiedlich die Menschen sind, die wir Ihnen hier vorstellen, sie alle eint ein Gedanke. Sie sind der festen Überzeugung, dass dieser Planet nur dann in hundert Jahren noch lebenswert bleibt, wenn man jetzt dafür arbeitet. Sie opfern Zeit, Kraft und manchmal auch viel Geld, um ihre Ziele zu erreichen. Und wir wollen ihnen dafür Danke sagen.

Hannah Förster, Antonella Battaglini, Armin Haas
sind Wissenschaftler am Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung. Gemeinsam haben sie die Aktion TheCompensators* ins Leben gerufen. Dabei wird jedem Bürger die Möglichkeit gegeben, Emissionsberechtigungen aus dem Europäischen Emissionshandelssystem zu löschen. Durch Mitgliedschaft und Unterstützung von TheCompensators* können die Teilnehmer implizite Unterstützung für eine effektive Klimapolitik leisten, Emissionsreduktionsanstrengungen einfordern, und durch einen steigenden Preis für CO2 zu einer schnelleren Verbreitung von klimaneutralen Technologien beitragen.

www.thecompensators.org

Klimaschutz durch Zertifikatekauf (taz 2007/03/19)

Download our first yearly report (in German) here.

Eine CO2-Bremse für jedermann offeriert der Berliner Verein “TheCompensators”: Er kauft Zertifikate, die zum Ausstoß des Treibhausgases Kohlendioxid (CO2) berechtigen. Diese werden dann aus dem Handel genommen. Mit dem Stilllegen der Zertifikate wollen die Gründer der Plattform die Preise für die Verschmutzungsrechte an den Strombörsen hochtreiben. “Nur dann wird die Industrie in CO2-freie Techniken investieren”, glaubt Mitgründerin Hannah Förster.
Die Idee kam den Klimakämpfern, als sie überlegten, wie sie die Emissionen ihrer Dienstreisen kompensieren könnten. “TheCompensators” kann jeder beitreten, die Vereinsbeiträge dienen zum Kauf von Emissionsrechten. Derzeit kostet ein Zertifikat für eine Tonne CO2 etwa 6,75 Euro.

(c) Focus Verlag und Redaktion

http://www.heise.de/tr/blog/artikel/82831

http://www.abendblatt.de/daten/2006/12/20/656461.html

http://jetzt.sueddeutsche.de/texte/anzeigen/352463/TrkMagMain

http://www.taz.de/pt/2006/12/18/a0096.1/text