愛污传媒

Sports

    • EXPLAINER: Carbon 'offsets' for World Cup in Qatar

    A general view of the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Oct. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Hussein Sayed) A general view of the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Oct. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Hussein Sayed)
    Share
    WASHINGTON -

    Qatar has said the upcoming soccer World Cup will be the first to be 'carbon-neutral.' In theory, that means the month-long tournament hosted by the small Gulf Arab nation will have a trivial effect on the climate. It's a bold claim for a country that spent the past 12 years building seven new stadiums, hotels, high-rises and roads for the event.

    Key to Qatar's plan are carbon offsets intended to cancel out the greenhouse gases emitted before and during the tournament.

    A look at how carbon credit arrangements work.

    WHAT ARE CARBON OFFSETS?

    Companies, governments and individuals buy offsets, or allowances, to reduce their carbon footprints. The basic idea behind the multibillion-dollar market is that emissions from polluting human activities can be counteracted elsewhere, using farming practices that store carbon, planting trees, or by preventing the escape of climate-changing gases from equipment.

    Allowances, credits and offsets all refer to the same thing. One offset corresponds to one metric ton of carbon dioxide that is avoided, removed or absorbed.

    Offsets have rapidly grown in popularity with governments using them to reach climate goals, companies incorporating them into 'net-zero' plans, and individuals buying them to cancel out climate pollution from air travel.

    There are two kinds of offset markets: voluntary and mandatory, or compliance. Individuals and companies purchase credits on the voluntary market while governments use compliance or cap-and-trade schemes to set legally binding limits on carbon emissions for industries like oil, transportation, electricity and landfills. Companies or other entities have a choice: They can pollute less, or they can spend money and buy credits in compliance markets -- such as the European Union Emissions Trading System -- to stay below emissions caps.

    For this year's World Cup, Qatar has pledged to voluntarily buy credits to offset all the emissions from the games.

    WHO ISSUES THEM?

    In the voluntary market, various registries issue credits based on criteria verified by third-parties who are supposed to be rigorous and neutral. But experts say the market remains largely unregulated.

    Mandatory cap-and-trade schemes work a little differently. Governments usually tell industries what the limit on their emissions will be. They often give away a certain number of allowances to the companies for free, authorizing them to pollute, and auction off the rest, or they may auction off all of them, forcing the companies to pay for every ton of carbon dioxide they release. Often the price per credit is quite low. If a company manages to come in under its pollution limit, it can make money by generating its own credits. Cap and trade is a free market solution to pollution because companies decide the most efficient places to invest in cleaner equipment.

    HOW DO OFFSETS WORK?

    Think of them as certificates that entities buy and sell to counteract pollution in one place by reducing, absorbing, capturing or destroying emissions in another.

    For a credit to be viable, it must offer a benefit to the environment that wouldn't happen otherwise, a concept known as 'additionality.'

    For example, if a company buys offsets that fund reforestation, the credits are valid only if the trees would not have been put in the ground otherwise. If the trees would have been planted anyway, the offsets are meaningless.

    WHAT ARE SOME ISSUES WITH OFFSETS?

    Ensuring that offsets are additional is often complicated. While proponents view offsets as an important tool to reach short- to medium-term emissions-reduction goals, critics say they frequently promise more than they deliver.

    Some experts believe offsets allow companies and to a lesser degree, individuals, to keep polluting and not change their behaviour while appearing to satisfy climate targets.

    "You cannot pay other people to reduce emissions and have everybody take that strategy and get to global emissions that are close to zero," said Danny Cullenward, a California-based energy economist and lawyer who studies carbon emissions.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    The sentencing of the man who pleaded guilty in the deadly hit-and-run in Kitsilano two years ago began on Friday.

    WATCH LIVE @ 3:30 P.M.

    WATCH LIVE @ 3:30 P.M.

    The two people who died in a major fire in Old Montreal on Friday were a mother and her seven-year-old daughter, sources told Noovo Info.

    A 30-year-old northwestern Ontario woman has been charged with arson following a structure fire Thursday night, police say.

    Ontario Provincial Police have laid stunt charges against a driver caught speeding 75 km/h over the speed limit on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end.

    Travelling on a budget can be stressful, but there are ways you can ensure you're getting the best deal on flights as the holiday season approaches.

    Canada

    • WATCH LIVE @ 3:30 P.M.

      WATCH LIVE @ 3:30 P.M.

      The two people who died in a major fire in Old Montreal on Friday were a mother and her seven-year-old daughter, sources told Noovo Info.

    • Ontario Provincial Police have laid stunt charges against a driver caught speeding 75 km/h over the speed limit on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end.

    • The sentencing of the man who pleaded guilty in the deadly hit-and-run in Kitsilano two years ago began on Friday.

    • New data shows the automated speed enforcement camera on King Edward Avenue, between Bolton Street and St. Patrick Street, issued 6,337 speeding tickets in August, the highest number of tickets issued by Ottawa's 40 photo radar cameras.

    • Montreal police say a business in the city's Pointe-Saint-Charles neighbourhood was hit with Molotov cocktails two nights in a row.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    • Travelling on a budget can be stressful, but there are ways you can ensure you're getting the best deal on flights as the holiday season approaches.

    • A five-seat sushi counter located inside another restaurant is the latest Vancouver eatery to receive a Michelin star.

    Sports

    • According to the Canadian Women & Sport's 2022 Rally Report, 76 per cent of girls who participate in sports believe it helps build confidence and enhances their mental health. While those benefits are important for all children, the organization's CEO says, right now, girls have less access.

    Autos

    • A Pickering, Ont., student going to college to be a mechanic is shocked the engine in his two-year-old car will not be repaired under warranty after the dealership claimed he had been 'over-revving' the engine.

    • A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.

    Local Spotlight

    Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.

    From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.

    A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.

    The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.

    A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.

    Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north

    What does New Westminster's t蓹m蓹sew虛tx史 Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.

    The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.

    New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.

    • Fire crews battled a massive blaze in downtown Langley Saturday morning.

    • Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.

    • The man suspected of murdering another man inside a Mackenzie, B.C., home last weekend has been arrested.

    • A Toronto police officer has been arrested after allegedly stealing three bottles of alcohol from a store.

    • Two pedestrians have been taken to hospital with serious injuries after an early-morning collision in Vaughan.

    • Toronto鈥檚 annual Nuit Blanche is back and with it come road closures.

    • An investigation is underway into what caused a vehicle rollover Saturday in the area of Plummers Road and Priddis Valley Road.

    • A pedestrian is in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle in southeast Calgary on Friday night.

    • Lethbridge police executed dozens of warrants and laid numerous charges in another targeted enforcement project in the downtown area.

    • Environment Canada has issued a frost advisory as temperatures across Ottawa and eastern Ontario are expected to dip near the freezing mark this evening.

    • New data shows the automated speed enforcement camera on King Edward Avenue, between Bolton Street and St. Patrick Street, issued 6,337 speeding tickets in August, the highest number of tickets issued by Ottawa's 40 photo radar cameras.

    • Ontario Provincial Police have laid stunt charges against a driver caught speeding 75 km/h over the speed limit on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end.

    • WATCH LIVE @ 3:30 P.M.

      WATCH LIVE @ 3:30 P.M.

      The two people who died in a major fire in Old Montreal on Friday were a mother and her seven-year-old daughter, sources told Noovo Info.

    • Montreal police say they are increasing their presence across the city ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 start of the Israel-Hamas war.

    • Montreal police say a business in the city's Pointe-Saint-Charles neighbourhood was hit with Molotov cocktails two nights in a row.

    • An estimated four billion birds will navigate man-made environments as they travel south from North America during fall migration. Tens of million of them will die en route due to human-created hazards.

    • A 79-year-old woman is dead after the vehicle she was driving crashed into an east Edmonton building late Friday afternoon.

    • Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jack Campbell has entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.

    • A riding in southwest New Brunswick that for decades was a Progressive Conservative stronghold is shaping up to be a bellwether that could offer a window into the future of the Tory party, and maybe of the province.

    • Nova Scotia author Allison Maher made the jump from young adult (YA) to adult fiction with her most recent novel, 鈥淭he Last of the Firsts鈥 and the response from readers has been a surprise for the writer.

    • It鈥檚 1998. Google was just born, and dial-up was the primary way to connect to the Internet. New sites were being developed daily on any number of topics, from recipes to shopping. David Yanciw, however, was thinking big - big things, that is.

    • A two-storey house that was under construction was the scene of a Saturday morning fire in Winnipeg鈥檚 Glenwood neighbourhood.

    • Highway 12 has been reopened following a single motor vehicle collision Saturday morning in the RM of Brokenhead, Man.

    • A wind warning has been issued for parts of southern Saskatchewan, with gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour (km/h) possible in some areas on Saturday, Environment and Climate Change Canada says.

    • Regina police are investigating after guns were fired at two homes last week, with one home being shot at on multiple occasions.

    • A permanent memorial at the site of the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash is about to be a step closer.

    • The Huron Ontario Provincial Police said they responded to a 鈥渄owned airplane鈥 just after 11 a.m. Saturday.

    • Police say they were called to the area of Simcoe Street and Market Street around 1:30 a.m. Saturday for a report of an assault.

    • Police have laid charges after a car crashed into the side of a Kitchener home early Friday morning.

    • A permanent memorial at the site of the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash is about to be a step closer.

    • The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation hosted a virtual election forum on education Thursday evening, giving candidates in the provincial election a chance to share their thoughts and answer questions on issues teachers find most important.

    • A Saskatchewan man living in the United States has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after he unknowingly provided disturbing videos to an FBI agent he thought was a pedophile.

    • Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.

    • WATCH LIVE @ 3:30 P.M.

      WATCH LIVE @ 3:30 P.M.

      The two people who died in a major fire in Old Montreal on Friday were a mother and her seven-year-old daughter, sources told Noovo Info.

    • Huron OPP say they were on the scene of a plane crash this morning, with a pilot finding themselves unable to halt before the end of a runway in Brussels.

    • The St. Thomas Panthers organization held 鈥楶anther Day鈥 focusing on recognizing IIAF World Girls Hockey weekend.

    • Three people from Simcoe County face charges in relation to a drug trafficking investigation that police say resulted in the seizure of several weapons, drugs and thousands of dollars worth of stolen property.

    • The Southern Georgian Bay OPP Detachment is investigating several impaired driving incidents that occurred over the past week, including two that led to drug busts.

    • A man is facing multiple charges after reportedly threatening to harm staff members at an Orillia business Friday afternoon.

    • The municipality issued a stern reminder for code violators, as both were fined following a warning issued by Leamington Fire Services.

    • According to police, the suspect entered and vandalized the property in the 700 block of Grand Marais Road Easton on September 28.

    • Travelling on a budget can be stressful, but there are ways you can ensure you're getting the best deal on flights as the holiday season approaches.

    • The leaders of both British Columbia's provincial Conservatives and New Democrats are in the Okanagan campaigning today.

    • We haven't heard the candidates talk much about education during B.C.'s 2024 election campaign, but the teachers' union is trying to put the spotlight on that issue.

    • The body of a British Columbia mountain climber has been located and recovered after the 39-year-old man was reported missing during a solo climb on Washington state's Mount Baker earlier this week.

    • Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.

    • The leaders of both British Columbia's provincial Conservatives and New Democrats are in the Okanagan campaigning today.

    • Three young suspects have been arrested in connection with a swarming attack on a teenager in B.C.'s Okanagan last week 鈥 and authorities have asked the public to stop circulating disturbing videos of the incident.

    • Lethbridge police executed dozens of warrants and laid numerous charges in another targeted enforcement project in the downtown area.

    • A person was airlifted to hospital following a serious crash in Taber, Alta., on Friday morning. Taber RCMP responded to the scene on Highway 864 around 10:30 a.m., for a crash involving an SUV and a semi-truck.

    • To enhance inclusivity at Lethbridge Polytechnic, the institution has launched a new accessibility micro-credential.

    • Two teens, ages 14 and 19, have been charged with arson in connection with a July 14 fire in Cat Lake First Nation that destroyed $500,000 in construction materials.

    • A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.

    • A suspect who accused Thunder Bay police of being responsible for his throat injury actually hurt himself when he swallowed a large amount of drugs.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at 愛污传媒. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.聽Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow 愛污传媒