The Vatican Climate Forest, to be located in the
Bükk National Park
Bükk National Park ( hu, Bükki Nemzeti Park) is a national park in the Bükk Mountains of Northern Hungary, near Miskolc. It was founded in 1977 as the third national park in the country. It contains 431.3 km2 (of which 37.74 km2 is u ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, was donated to the
Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
by a
carbon offset
A carbon offset is a reduction or removal of emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. Offsets are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e). One ton of carb ...
ting company. The forest is to be sized to offset the
carbon emissions generated by the Vatican during 2007.
[Vatican signs up for a carbon offset forest]
, ''Catholic News Service'', published 2007-07-13, accessed 2007-08-03 The Vatican's acceptance of the offer, at a ceremony on July 5, 2007, was reported as being "purely symbolic",
and a way to encourage
Catholics to do more to safeguard the planet. No trees have been planted under the project and the carbon offsets have not materialized.
In a more effective move to combat
global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
, in May 2007, the Vatican announced that the roof of the
Paul VI Audience Hall
The Paul VI Audience Hall ( it, Aula Paolo VI) also known as the Hall of the Pontifical Audiences is a building in Rome named for Pope with a seating capacity of 6,300, designed in reinforced concrete by the Italian architect Pier Luigi N ...
would be covered with
photovoltaic panels
Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...
. The installation was officially placed into service on November 26, 2008.
Vatican wins award for creating rooftop solar-power generator
, ''Catholic News Service'', published 2008-11-26, accessed 2009-12-22
See also
* Action on Climate Change
*Avoiding dangerous climate change
In 2005, an international conference titled Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change: A Scientific Symposium on Stabilisation of Greenhouse Gases examined the link between atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration and global warming and its effects. ...
* Carbon footprint
*Carbon neutral
Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...
ity
* Kyoto Protocol
* Index of Vatican City-related articles
References
External links
Planktos/KlimaFa press releaseCardinal Poupard's acceptance speech
Carbon Discredit
no trees have been planted
Religious action on climate change
Environment of Vatican City
{{VaticanCity-stub