Ten states urge the FTC to set marketing guidelines for carbon offsets

  Debra Kahn, Greenwire reporter

Attorneys general from Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Vermont asked FTC in a letter last Friday to define terms like "carbon neutrality" and "baseline emissions."

The commission is considering revisions to its environmental marketing guidelines. First on FTC's agenda are carbon offsets and renewable energy credits, both of which have seen a boom in sales as consumers seek to reduce their carbon footprints.

The public comment period on offset guidelines ended Friday. The agency is planning to hold more public hearings on other aspects of environmental marketing before it issues a decision on offsets, FTC attorney Hampton Newsome said.

Most of the other comments posted on FTC's Web site also called for more regulation.

Michael Gillenwater, of Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs, said consumers were confused by the murky terms of the emissions-reduction industry. "It is unreasonable to expect consumers to be sophisticated about these matters. It is up to entities such as the FTC and standard setting and policing bodies to simplify choices for the consumer."

Forest Service employee Amanda Cundiff, representing her own views, said that offsets should not be used for reforestation projects on public lands, as "when carbon credit retailers fund projects on public land, it means that green consumers are stepping in to make up for lower appropriations from Congress for reforestation of federal lands."

The legitimacy of offsets has become a political issue on Capitol Hill.

House Minority Leader John Boehner's office is trumpeting a story in today's Washington Post questioning $89,000 worth of offsets purchased as part of House Democratic leaders' $4 million "Greening of the Capitol" initiative.

"It is outrageous that [House Chief Administrative Officer] Dan Beard would unilaterally waste taxpayer dollars on carbon 'indulgences' with no accountability whatsoever," said the Ohio Republican's spokesman Kevin Smith. "It's the height of irresponsibility, and most Americans would be infuriated if they knew it was happening."

Click here to view the letter from 10 states to FTC.

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