Yet the notion of offsets, especially carbon sinks, are popular in the U.S. Congress, where several senators have said that they will never vote for the Kyoto agreement if it hurts the U.S. economy. In other words, U.S. businesses would pay companies in other countries to pollute less, thereby allowing U.S. companies to continue to pollute unabated. Everyone else can tighten their belts, except for us. The U.S., however, is going in the opposite direction. Under these circumstances, Al Gore's boast is not only comic, it's hollow and sickening.
Many environmentalists are unwilling to give up on the Kyoto agreement, however.
They say it is a first, albeit tiny, step in the right direction. If true, it makes this year's summit all the more important, and the U.S.'s proposal all the more horrific. Even this tiny step will likely be thwarted in favor of U.S. business interests.