As the world soberly reckons with the growing impacts of climate change, striving for ‘net zero’ carbon emissions has emerged as a leading collective goal for governments, companies, and individuals alike. At the heart of this pursuit sits carbon offsetting – a vital mechanism that propels the climate promises of a net-zero target. So what is carbon offsetting, why does it matter, and, importantly, how does it support net zero by helping stimulate a more sustainable future? In this Carbon Offset and Net Zero article, we answer these questions and more.
Understanding Carbon Offsetting
You might have been offered carbon offsets as part of the purchase of your next car or holiday: offsetting carbon emissions from your life involves paying to support projects that cut or take an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases out of the air.
How Carbon Offsetting Works
Purchasing carbon offsets is a way of paying for efforts that reduce or cancel out one’s carbon footprint. Suppose that, as a result of your business activities, you emit 1,000 tons of CO2. You might then purchase carbon offsets that pay for a forest conservation project to sequester 1,000 tons of CO2, effectively neutralizing your carbon footprint.
The Net Zero Concept
The key here is the word ‘net’: the net-zero target means balancing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted with the amount removed from the atmosphere. Net zero emissions can only be achieved if the remaining narrow band of emissions is offset through a mixture of actions, such as using techniques to remove carbon from the atmosphere. Coming out of the 24th COP26 climate summit in Scotland in November 2021, global climate agreements are very much focused on the idea of net zero and the aim of national and corporate sustainability strategies.
Setting Net Zero Goals
To do this, organizations or countries will set themselves a target by which they will cut their emissions to net zero. These targets typically involve reducing the usage of fossil fuels through the adoption of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, and more generally, low-carbon practices, with offsetting partially filling the hole that remains.
The Synergy Between Carbon Offset and Net Zero
They’re interdependent. Cutting emissions is seen as the primary approach, and offsetting is the means of balancing out whatever is left. Together, this forms a strategy: net zero.
The Role of Carbon Offsetting in Achieving Net Zero
Carbon offsetting provides entities with a way to account for their emissions that they cannot reduce and continue to take advantage of extreme reductions. A company, for instance, might reduce its operational emissions by investing in more energy-efficient technologies but still need to offset the emissions from its supply chain or employee travel. Offsets provide a way to make reduction efforts serve the goal of net zero.
Types of Carbon Offset Projects
- Reforestation and afforestation: Tree planting captures atmospheric CO2, so these efforts are powerful ways to offset emissions.
- Renewable energy projects (wind, solar, hydropower) by replacing (distancing from fossil fuels.
- Methane Recovery Capture Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from landfills or livestock operations so it doesn’t go into the atmosphere.
- Energy efficiency projects: Investments in transforming buildings or industrial processes to maximise energy efficiency can result in substantial emission reductions.
The Impact of Carbon Offsetting on Sustainability
But, beyond achieving carbon balance, the money paid for offsets also supports a variety of other Sustainable Development Goals by investing in offset projects. So, how does offsetting achieve MEC investment?.
- Environmental Protection: Projects like reforestation and renewable energy protect ecosystems and reduce pollution.
- Employment: Many offset projects, particularly in developing countries, generate jobs and spur local economies.
- Social Benefits: Offset projects can improve local health and well-being through reduced pollution and sustainable farming and fishing.
Challenges and Criticisms
Despite its benefits, carbon offsetting faces several criticisms and challenges:
- Feasibility: Critics say that offset projects do not always, or even often, produce targeted environmental benefits, particularly if they are not well-managed or audited.
- Additionally: An offset project must provide more than would have happened anyway without the offset funding. This can be challenging to ensure.
- Make all offset projects transparent and verified: If you can’t see the offsets being used, then it’s hard to trust them.
Best Practices for Effective Carbon Offsetting
To maximize the effectiveness of carbon offsetting, consider the following best practices:
- Look for projects that have achieved verification: the Gold Standard and the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) provide sensitive measurements for many different kinds of verified projects.
- Reduction Before Offsetting: Reduce before offsetting: Reduce direct emissions in your own life and the direct emissions of the things you do and consume first, employing offsets only secondarily.
- Monitor and report: Monitor and report on offset projects on an ongoing basis to ensure that they continue to provide the claimed benefits transparently.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Carbon Offset and Net Zero
New technologies in carbon capture, improvements to offset project verification, and rising corporate and government commitments are constantly reimagining the search for net zero and the potential of carbon offsetting.
Emerging Trends in Carbon Offsetting
- Increasingly Effective Technologies: Innovations such as direct air capture and hyper-efficient reforestation are propelling offset projects forward.
- Improved Standards and Verification: Better standards and verification will enhance the quality and transparency of offset projects.
- Corporate commitments: Many companies are beginning to adopt significant net-zero climate goals and incorporate carbon offsetting into broader corporate sustainability agendas.
How can individuals contribute to carbon offset initiatives?
Individuals can contribute to carbon offset initiatives in several impactful ways:
Buy Carbon Offsets:
Use your money to invest in projects that either cut carbon emissions or sequester carbon in forests or agricultural soils, or the ocean. Verified carbon offsets from quality programmes are now available, meeting key standards such as the Gold Standard or Verified Carbon Standard.
Buy Local:
Participate in localised carbon offset projects that foster ‘local environmental improvements’ such as forestry or renewable energy programs. These projects are often run by local community participants and benefit local communities.
Campaign For Sustainable Practices:
Encourage your friends, families, and workplaces to take action in using sustainable practices and carbon offsetting as part of their corporate responsibility.
Participate in Awareness Campaigns:
Join or support campaigns that emphasize carbon offsetting and climate action, and actively spread awareness about the impacts of carbon emissions and the steps to combat them.
Carbon offsetting and net-zero targets play an integral role in the response to the climate crisis. Reducing emissions is key to limiting global warming, but individual and cumulative reductions in carbon will not be enough to limit warming to 1.5°C. To satisfactorily tackle climate change, we need to invest in a sufficient volume of high-quality, permanent, and additional offset projects to reduce emissions even further and put us on the path to a green world.
