Tiszakeszi JournalVatican Penance : Forgive Us Our Carbon Output Tamas Dezso for The International Herald TribuneThe Tisza River in Tiszakeszi , Hungary , where on a denuded stretch of land , trees will be planted to offset the carbon emissions of Vatican City . By ELISABETH ROSENTHALPublished : September 17 , 2007 TISZAKESZI , Hungary — This summer the cardinals at the Vatican accepted an unusual donation from a Hungarian start - up called Klimafa : The company said it would plant trees to restore an ancient forest on a denuded stretch of land by the Tisza River to offset the Vatican ’ s carbon emissions . The New York TimesThe trees should absorb as much carbon dioxide as the Vatican will produce in 2007 . Enlarge This Image Tamas Dezso for The International Herald TribuneAn angler on his way to the Tisza River , near where environmentally degraded land will be restored as a forest . The trees , on a 37 - acre tract of land that will be renamed the Vatican climate forest , will in theory absorb as much carbon dioxide as the Vatican will produce in 2007 : driving cars , heating offices , lighting St . Peter ’ s Basilica at night . In so doing , the Vatican announced , it would become the world ’ s first carbon - neutral state . “ As the Holy Father , Pope Benedict XVI , recently stated , the international community needs to respect and encourage a ‘ green culture , ’ ” said Cardinal Paul Poupard , leader of the Pontifical Council for Culture , who took part in a ceremony marking the event at the Vatican . “ The Book of Genesis tells us of a beginning in which God placed man as guardian over the earth to make it fruitful . ” In many respects , the program seems like a win - win - win proposition . The Vatican , which has recently made an effort to go green on its own by installing solar panels , sought to set an example by offsetting its carbon emissions . Hungary , whose government scientists are consulting on the project , will take over large swaths of environmentally degraded , abandoned land restored as a native forest . That will have a beneficial effect on the climate here , and provide jobs in an economically depressed area . Klimafa , an 18 - month - old company , gets the Vatican ’ s seal of approval and free publicity for its first project . In addition to the Vatican , several European governments , as well as Dell , the computer maker , have bought carbon offsets that will be backed by planting trees on the land . “ It seems so obvious , but no one was doing it , ” said David Gazdag of Klimafa , who brokered the project with backing from his San Francisco parent company , Planktos International , which specializes in ecosystem restoration . But creating and selling carbon “ offsets ” or “ credits ” is still a novel idea for business and science , and much debate remains . The calculation for planting trees is especially complicated . Planting forests is only “ a partial solution , and a temporary one , ” said Laszlo Galhidy , a forestry officer for the environmental group WWF Hungary , although he praised the project as useful . Young forests — dominated by growing trees — soak up a lot of carbon dioxide , but once the forests mature , they absorb far less , he said . Also , he said , there is no scientific system for predicting the exact carbon - absorbing capacity of a project like the Vatican forest , whose trajectory depends on rainfall , temperature and how fast the trees grow . The Kyoto Protocol and the European Union ’ s cap and trade program set emissions targets for countries or large companies . Those that exceed their allowances by emitting too much carbon need to purchase carbon credits from countries or companies that do not need their allotment , or from companies like Klimafa that create credits through green projects like planting trees . On the European Union market , carbon credits are trading at about $ 28 , with one credit countering one ton of emitted carbon dioxide . Klimafa says its donation to the Vatican is worth about $ 130 , 000 . The European Union program allows for a much - needed transfer of money from the more developed countries of Western Europe to the new economies of the East . Countries and companies in the West tend to exceed their allowances , whereas Eastern countries tend to have excess credits to sell because so many polluting Communist - era factories have been shut . Also , many of the former Eastern bloc countries had to decommission farmland to join the European Union in accordance with its agricultural policy . In Hungary , as in other new member states , huge tracts of marginal fields have been bought by the government from farmers and are available for reforesting . The land that will hold Klimafa ’ s first eco - restoration project , originally called Forest Island , was cleared in the Middle Ages , though it is on a flood plain and has always been risky to farm . The area is a mix of weeds , wetlands , a lake and a few fields of corn that farmers are planting illegally even though they no longer own the land . Much of the land is a jumble of goldenrod and amorpha fruticosa , a weed that grows like wildfire . Gergely Torda , a plant biologist from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences who is consulting on the project , scans the land as a blank canvas , describing plans for what will be planted where . Later this year , Klimafa will begin clearing the weeds , using local labor , and then start environmentally sensitive planting of native saplings like willows , beeches , ash , certain poplars and oaks . The growing forest will absorb 10 times the carbon that the land currently absorbs , and will be self - sustaining , Mr . Torda said . Klimafa has been given the right to restore the land by the Bukk National Park , which owns it ; costs will be covered by carbon credit purchases . Mr . Torda said it would take 50 to 150 years to produce a mature forest . After the Vatican agreement was announced , Msgr . Melchor Sánchez de Toca Alameda , an official at the Council for Culture at the Vatican , told the Catholic News Service that buying credits was like doing penance . “ One can emit less CO 2 by not using heating and not driving a car , or one can do penance by intervening to offset emissions , in this case by planting trees , ” he said .