22 April 2010 - 20H24  

Vatican might sue over unplanted carbon-offsetting forest
A view of Saint Peter's Basilica at The Vatican (R-back) and the Italian presidential palace, The Quirinale. The Vatican said Thursday it might sue a Hungarian company that failed to plant trees as agreed to offset the Vatican's carbon emissions.
A view of Saint Peter's Basilica at The Vatican (R-back) and the Italian presidential palace, The Quirinale. The Vatican said Thursday it might sue a Hungarian company that failed to plant trees as agreed to offset the Vatican's carbon emissions.

AFP - The Vatican said Thursday it might sue a Hungarian company that failed to plant trees as agreed to offset the Vatican's carbon emissions.

"It's true that the forest has not been planted," Father Ciro Benedettini, deputy head of the Vatican press office told AFP.

"We have asked several times to respect this commitment and we are currently studying the possibility of resorting to justice," Benedettini said.

The head of US-Hungarian Planktos-Klimafa told news agency ASCA the company "is in a very difficult financial situation."

In July 2007 Planktos-Klimafa agreed to plant 7,000 hectares of trees in a national park in Hungary in order to make the Vatican state carbon-neutral.

Benedettini said the Vatican might sue Planktos-Klimafa to protect its name and reputation.

The Vatican has also installed solar panels on top of an audience hall in order to offset its carbon emissions.

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