What are carbon credits?

Carbon credits are issued to projects that reduce carbon emissions. Each carbon credit is equivalent to one tonne of emissions reduced by the project. To qualify for carbon credits, a project must prove that it needs the revenue from the sale of the credits in order to survive. It must also have independent verification of the reductions it has achieved. Barclaycard Breathe, in association with PURE, only buys Kyoto compliant carbon credits from the UN Clean Development Mechanism. That’s our guarantee that the organisations we buy them from meet the highest possible standards for emissions reductions.

What is the Kyoto protocol?

The Kyoto protocol is a treaty that was adopted at an international meeting in Kyoto, Japan in 1997, with the aim of reducing greenhouse gases, which cause climate change. When a company or organisation is issued with Kyoto compliant carbon credits, it means that their work in reducing climate change is in accordance with the standards of the treaty.

What is clean energy?

Clean energy is any form of energy that is generated without pollution or the emission of greenhouse gases. Traditional forms of energy generation, such as the burning of coal, emit carbon dioxide and can also produce chemicals such as sulphur dioxide, which causes acid rain, and mono nitrogen oxides, which cause respiratory problems and smog. Clean energy avoids these problems, relying on converting naturally occurring forces such as those of the wind, tides, river flow – as well as heat from the sun – into electricity, so no gases are given off.

Are dams clean energy sources?

Technically, one might say dams were clean since they give off no greenhouse gases or other pollutants. However, building them generally requires flooding of vast areas of land, destroying plant and animal life and uprooting local populations. For this reason, they don’t meet our overall ethical standards. We only support run-of-river power plants, which make minimal, non-damaging interventions in the local landscape.

Is nuclear power a type of clean energy?

There is some disagreement about this, but, to be on the safe side, we operate on the principle that it’s not. Its safety, while it’s been improved since previous crises, is still open to question and it generates (nuclear) waste, which is difficult and expensive to dispose of safely. It is also argued that it indirectly results in carbon emissions because the fuel used in nuclear power, uranium, is mined and transported by machinery run on fossil fuels.

Will it cost me more to use Barclaycard Breathe?

No. The APR is just 14.9% typical variable and using the card does not oblige you to make any payments or donations over and above what you spend anyway.

What are greenhouse gases?

Greenhouse gases are gases that, released into the earth’s atmosphere, cause the planet’s overall temperature to rise. The main ones are carbon dioxide and methane. They can be released in a number of different ways. Carbon dioxide is given off by burning fossil fuels and is also exhaled by animals, including humans, when we breathe. Methane is the main component of natural gas and is also given off in the burps and flatulence of cows. These are gases that have always been around. However, more and more have been released in the last hundred or so years because of industrialisation, industrialised farming and the use of fossil fuels in cars and airplanes. Also, at the same time, large areas of the world’s forests have been cut down due to logging and other factors. This is a contributing problem because trees absorb carbon dioxide. As we emit more, we have also been decreasing our planet’s capacity to reduce it.

What is global warming?

The planet has always warmed and cooled throughout its history for various reasons. However, overwhelming scientific consensus now suggests that it is warming very fast because of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity. This causes numerous problems. It melts arctic ice, causing sea levels to rise, increasing the risk of flooding. It also makes weather patterns more unpredictable, increasing the risks of storms and hurricanes. At the same time, in other areas, increased temperature rises cause draught and crop failure, increasing poverty and starvation.