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Posted on Thu, Dec. 14, 2006
Associated Press

PG&E to Let Customers Pay to Offset Global Warming Emissions

SAN FRANCISCO - Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will soon start offering its customers a chance to fight global warming by offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions generated by their home energy use.

The state Public Utilities Commission on Thursday approved the utility's plan to allow business and residential customers to pay to balance out their carbon dioxide emissions by investing in forest restoration projects in California.

San Francisco-based PG&E said it will launch its "ClimateSmart" program next spring, and the utility will help customers calculate how much to pay to offset their emissions. The average customer can expect to pay $4.31 a month.

Amid rising concerns about climate change, a growing number of companies are offering customers a chance to "neutralize" their personal carbon emissions. Some experts, however, are skeptical about how much impact so-called "carbon offsets" can have on global warming.

PG&E officials said they expect the program to generate about $20 million in its first three years, enough to remove about 2 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through restoring forests.

ClimateSmart's projects will be selected based on criteria developed by the nonprofit California Climate Action Registry.

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