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Next: Act to Offset Your Carbon Emissions!
Here you will find some of the commonly asked questions about carbon offsets. These include:
- What is climate change?
- What are greenhouse gases?
- What is a carbon offset?
- How are offsets generated?
- Why are carbon offsets beneficial?
- Are some offsets better than others?
- What are the features of high quality offsets?
- Are there any regulatory standards for offsets?
- Why is offset quality so important?
- When I purchase carbon offsets, where does my money go?
- Are carbon offsets tax deductible?
- Are carbon offsets merely a means to reduce guilt while continuing to pollute?
1. What is climate change?
“Climate change” refers to long-term changes in the average climate, such as changes in average temperatures.
There is widespread agreement among the worlds’ leading scientists that:
- Climate change is underway
- The changes are occurring ever-more rapidly
- Human activities, most importantly the burning of fossil fuels, are the primary cause of the climate change we are experiencing now.
These human activities have increased the amount of "greenhouse gases" in the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. This in turn is causing a rapid rise in global temperatures and altering the climate.
To learn more about climate change, click here.
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2. What are greenhouse gases?
When people speak of greenhouse gases, they are generally referring to carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), fluorinated gases (HFCs, PFCs, HCs, SF6) and water vapor (H2O).
Greenhouse gases (GHGs) contribute to global warming by trapping energy from the sun in the Earth’s atmosphere. This trapping of energy has a warming effect, hence the term “greenhouse” gases. There is widespread scientific consensus that human activities are rapidly increasing the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In 2005, for example, global atmospheric concentrations of CO2 were 30% higher than they were prior to the Industrial Revolution. Although there is some natural variability in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, geological records indicate that historical changes in atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases have occurred gradually over very long periods of time.
To learn more about greenhouse gases, click here.
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3. What is a carbon offset?
A “carbon offset” (or “greenhouse gas offset”) is created by reducing, avoiding or sequestering (trapping) GHG emissions from a specific project. Those reduced GHG emissions (offsets) are then used to balance out equivalent emissions from another source. In other words, by reducing or avoiding emissions in one location it is possible to “offset”, or balance, the emissions created in another location. Carbon offsets thereby enable individuals and businesses to decrease their impact on the climate.
Because carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases mix and move around in the atmosphere, they will have the same impact on the climate regardless of what city or country they are produced in. Greenhouse gas offsets allow emission reductions in one location to balance out emissions produced in another location.
To learn more about greenhouse gas offsets, click here.
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4. How are offsets generated?
Many types of activities can generate carbon offsets. For example, carbon emissions can be offset through forestry projects, methane capture and destruction projects, renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, and geological sequestration projects.
To learn more about how offsets are generated, click here.
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5. Why are carbon offsets beneficial?
Carbon offsets make good environmental sense because they are a very efficient and cost-effective means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Although offsets cannot “solve” the problem of climate change by themselves, they are an important part of the long-term solution to global warming. Together with on-site emission reductions and reliable greenhouse gas sequestration projects, offsets play a role in combating climate change.
Aside from the obvious benefit of greenhouse gas reductions, offsets can:
- Conserve habitat and biodiversity
- Reduce soil erosion and improve water quality
- Stimulate demand for clean energy products
- Encourage energy efficiency and green technological innovations.
To learn more about carbon offsets and their benefits, click here.
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6. Are some offsets better than others?
Offset quality can vary from vendor to vendor and from project to project. The voluntary carbon market remains largely unregulated, so there are a range of techniques being used to calculate, generate and sell carbon offsets. Some of these techniques are more reliable than others. Likewise, offset vendors employ a range of voluntary industry standards, some of which are more rigorous than others.
To learn more about what constitutes high quality offsets, click here.
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7. What are the features of high quality offsets?
There are a number of aspects that determine the quality of offsets. Among the most important of these aspects are:
- Additionality: does an offset project result in emissions that would not have occurred in its absence?
- Benefit quantification: are emission reductions accurately calculated?
- Monitoring and verification: are all calculations certified and all emission reductions verified by a reliable third party?
Of all the offset quality measures, additionality is likely the most important of them. After all, the entire concept of offsetting emissions (i.e. balancing out newly created emissions with newly reduced emissions) relies on the creation of new emission reductions.
Only by buying “additional” offsets can you be assured that your purchase is ultimately benefiting the climate.
A reliable vendor will be happy to provide you with information regarding these and other aspects of their product. Be wary of vendors that provide vague or little information concerning the quality of their offsets.
To learn more about what constitutes high quality offsets, click here.
To get help selecting a reliable offset vendor, click here.
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8. Are there any regulatory standards for offsets?
There are ongoing efforts to arrive at binding standardized technical criteria and administrative processes for offsets, but the market for voluntary carbon offsets is largely unregulated at present. In the United States, for example, there are no regulatory standards for offset quality at the national level.
There are, however, a number of standards being used by the various companies and organizations offering voluntary carbon offsets. These standards include:
- Kyoto CDM
- The Gold Standard
- The Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS)
- ISO 14064/14065
- Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) standards
- Green-e
- The Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards (CCBS)
While these industry standards represent a positive step towards complete reliability and transparency in the voluntary offset market, their features and rigor vary.
To learn more about offset quality standards, click here.
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9. Why is offset quality so important?
Offset quality is of critical importance! First, the entire concept of offsets relies on the premise that they result in real, quantifiable emissions reductions. Second, the market for voluntary carbon offsets is still emerging. Low quality offsets could discredit the industry and result in the exclusion of offsets from future regulatory schemes.
That said, all offsets are not created equal. Because the voluntary offset market remains largely unregulated, providers of offsets can employ a wide range of techniques to generate, calculate and market their offset products. Some of those techniques are subject to rigorous quality review; other techniques may be untested or unreliable.
Consumers and businesses seeking to balance their carbon emissions should strive to select a reliable offset vendor providing high-quality emission reductions.
To learn more about what constitutes high quality offsets, click here.
To get help selecting a reliable offset vendor, click here.
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10. When I purchase carbon offsets, where does my money go?
When you purchase carbon offsets from a reputable provider, the great majority of the money you spent will be converted into real, quantifiable emission reductions. While not every cent of every dollar paid to offset carbon is converted into projects, a certain amount of overhead is necessary to ensure that carbon-reducing projects are properly planned and implemented. Just as the International Red Cross and other laudable NGOs must cover their operating costs, carbon offsetters have some unavoidable costs (such as employee salaries and payments to project monitors).
The market for voluntary carbon offsets is becoming increasingly competitive, both on a quality and cost basis. Providers therefore have a strong incentive to demonstrate to the satisfaction of consumers that their money is being well-spent. Many offset vendors explicitly lay out where and how your money will be spent.
If you are concerned about the percentage of money being spent on overhead or costs such as advertising, ask a vendor where your money will go before you make an offset purchase.
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11. Are carbon offsets tax deductible?
Whether or not your purchase of carbon offsets will be tax deductible is dependent upon the organization that you purchase them from. Money paid to a for-profit offsetting company will not be tax deductible. Payments to non-profits, on the other hand, are often entirely deductible or deductible in part (i.e. a percentage of the payment will be deductible).
Rest assured- if your purchase of offsets from an organization will be tax deductible, they will let you know it!
To learn more about the various offset vendors and which are non-profits, click here.
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12. Are carbon offsets merely a means to reduce guilt while continuing to pollute?
Purchasing offsets is not merely a way to reduce guilt while continuing to pollute. Rather, offsets are a means of taking responsibility for the pollution that you cannot avoid. Most reliable offset vendors strongly emphasize every person’s responsibility to minimize their personal emissions before purchasing offsets. Moreover, many vendors offer concrete suggestions about how consumers can do so.
To learn more about simple steps you can take to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions, click here.
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