Pearl Jam invests in Amazonian reforestation to offset emissions from current Brazil tour
by Mongabay.com on 20 March 2018 |
Rock band Pearl Jam has partnered with Conservation International (CI) in purchasing carbon offsets for the estimated 2,500 tons of carbon dioxide emissions that will be generated by its Brazilian tour dates taking place this month.
Proceeds from the offset purchase will be used to support a tropical forest restoration project that aims to plant 73 million trees in the Brazilian Amazon by 2023, said to be the largest reforestation effort in the world.
"As a band, it's important for us to recognize the environmental impact of our tours and do what we can to mitigate that," Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard said in a statement.
Rock band Pearl Jam is voluntarily offsetting the carbon emissions of its current tour in Brazil.
The band has partnered with Conservation International (CI) in purchasing carbon offsets for the estimated 2,500 tons of carbon dioxide emissions that will be generated by its Brazilian tour dates taking place this month.
The offsets were purchased through Amazonia Live, a partnership between Rock in Rio, CI, Brazil's Environment Ministry, the World Bank, and others. Proceeds from the purchase of the offsets will be used to support a tropical forest restoration project that aims to plant 73 million trees in the Brazilian Amazon by 2023, said to be the largest reforestation effort in the world.
"As a band, it's important for us to recognize the environmental impact of our tours and do what we can to mitigate that," Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard said in a statement. "This Amazonia Live project is exciting because it helps to offset the CO2 we will emit with our Brazilian tour dates, while providing local employment and food security opportunities."
Pearl Jam is voluntarily offsetting the emissions from its current Brazilian tour. This is not the first time the band has sought to mitigate the climate impact of its tours. Photo courtesy of Conservation International.
Rodrigo Medeiros, Vice President of CI Brazil, told Mongabay that the total cost of offsetting those 2,500 tons of carbon was $50,000, and that, more specifically, the money will go to an agroforestry project at the Uatumã Reserve in Amazonas state, Brazil.
"This investment will directly benefit 27 families, employing 30 people as seed collectors, nursery workers, planters and agricultural technicians," Medeiros said.
This isn't the first time Pearl Jam has taken steps to mitigate the climate impact of its tours. The band also teamed up with Conservation International to offset the CO2 emissions of its 2015 tour in Latin America and its 2016 U.S. tour.
Pearl Jam says on its website that the carbon footprint of its tours is calculated "based on band and crew flights and hotel stays, truck mileage, bus mileage, shipping weight (miles/mode of transport), and the number of fans attending each show." Profits from the band's tours are then allocated to its offsetting efforts in accordance with these calculations.
"We're thrilled to partner with Pearl Jam in protecting the Amazon and spreading the message of its significance well beyond its borders. The Amazon benefits communities that depend upon it for their livelihoods as well as people across the globe. Twenty percent of the world's freshwater supply comes from the Amazon, its forests provide thirty percent of the solution to climate change," CI Brazil's Medeiros said in a statement.
"Having a global artist like Pearl Jam join us in this effort is exactly what we need to keep people and the planet thriving."
The Amazon rainforest. Photo courtesy of Conservation International.
Amazon, Amazon Rainforest, Climate Activism, Climate Change, Climate Change And Forests, Environment, Global Warming Mitigation, Mitigation, Rainforests, Reforestation, Restoration, Tropical Forests