The Vatican will soon be able to boast that it is the only state in the world whose net carbon dioxide emissions amount to zero.
An American and a Hungarian company will plant hundreds of trees in Hungary on the Vatican's behalf. The trees will be enough to compensate for all the CO2 emissions produced by the Vatican City State in 2007.
An accord between the Holy See and the two companies - Planktos Inc. and Klimafa - was initialed in Rome in recent days by Cardinal Paul Poupard, head of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Culture.
Planktos and KlimaFa specialise in selling greenhouse-gas 'mitigation credits' to individuals and businesses.
This means that clients can offset their CO2 emissions by paying for trees to be planted or for other action to be taken to eliminate carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
"The Vatican wants to play its small part in eliminating carbon dioxide emissions," he said in a statement.
Carbon dioxide is one of the "greenhouse gases" that trap heat in the earth's atmosphere and it is seen as a prime cause of global warming.
The Vatican is not paying for the reforestation project. It is a gift with which Planktos and KlimaFa hope to win publicity.
At the same time the Vatican has the opportunity to underline its green credentials.
"When Man forgets to be a servant of the earth and becomes its master, the earth itself seems to rebel against him," Cardinal Poupard said.
Environmental awareness is becoming one of the Vatican's banners and the pope has recently spoken about the need to respect the planet. Plans are advancing to install solar panels on the Vatican audience hall to generate electricity.
The size of the Vatican Climate Forest in Hungary and the number of trees to be planted will depend on how much energy the Vatican uses in 2007. Planktos and KlimaFa will measure this and offset all CO2 emissions.
By investing its image in the project, the Vatican is backing the idea that there are at least two approaches to battling climate change.
"You can emit less carbon dioxide by not using heaters or by doing without a car. Or you can do penance, in this case by planting trees that convert CO2 into oxygen," said Monsignor Melchor Sanchez de Toca Alameda, an official at the Pontifical Council for Culture.
