Shell has ploughed US$300 million into forest plantations to reduce its carbon footprint by 2-3 per cent, Italy's ENI has set an objective of zero net emissions via its forestry investments, and France's Total plans to set up a special"business unit" next year to spend US$100 million annually on compensation efforts.
The aim is to reach"neutral carbon growth" - that is to ensure future emissions are held at 2020 levels.While trees are an important tool for regulating the climate, reforestation alone cannot whitewash a company's carbon-emitting activity, say activists. "It's a cop-out that risks dissuading society collectively from making greater effort and investing in costlier technologies," says Alain Karsenty, researcher at the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development .