What Are Carbon Offsets? And Are They Beneficial?
Many areas around the world are being affected by climate change. However, many people are unaware of how their activities contribute a lot to climate change and global warming. As global warming continues, beaches keep shrinking, coral reefs are bleaching, and alpine resorts are being left snowless. Carbon offsetting is one of the ways people can minimize the damage that is being done to these places.
What Are Carbon Offsets?
Carbon offsets are certificates representing the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide emissions. When people develop a project that causes a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions, each ton of reduced emissions leads to the creation of a single carbon offset. The project developers can then put up their offsets for sale to obtain financing for their projects.
There are a lot of carbon dioxide reduction projects that can be carried out. For instance, a dairy farm can build an anaerobic digester that traps and destroys methane. If left uncontrolled, this methane would be released into the atmosphere following the decomposition of manure.
However, the installation of an anaerobic digester is not cheap. Apart from that, these units also require a lot of money to maintain. Therefore, to make it easier to maintain and run an anaerobic digester, the dairy farm can sell carbon offsets. Carbon offsets are an available tool for individuals and organizations that wish to mitigate the impact of their carbon footprints.
How Are Carbon Offsets Generated?
There are three main ways to generate carbon offsets. These include the following.
Capturing and Destroying of Greenhouse Gases
This is an effective way to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. For instance, greenhouse gases like methane can be captured and destroyed using a methane gas capture project.
Producing Clean Energy
Several renewable resources can be used to generate energy. This eliminates the need to produce that energy from burning fossil fuels. As a result, fewer greenhouse gases will be emitted. An example of this is solar energy generation.
Sequestration of Greenhouse Gases
This is the capturing and storing of greenhouse gases so they aren’t released into the atmosphere. For instance, this can be made possible by healthy growth and maintenance of forests.
Some projects combine more than one of these activities. For instance, gas captured by a methane gas capture can be used to generate electricity. This eliminates the need to develop power using fossil fuels like coal.
Benefits fo Carbon Offsets
Carbon offsetting has many benefits. It can benefit environmental projects that would otherwise struggle to secure funding. On the other hand, it also allows businesses to lower their carbon footprint.
Unfortunately, many companies are unable to utilize low-carbon options presently. The only way these companies can help to reduce emissions is by funding projects that reduce emissions. This way, carbon offsets make it possible for such businesses to reduce emissions that they can’t eliminate themselves.
In most instances, carbon offsets are voluntary. However, there are some areas where companies need to purchase carbon offsets to comply with local standards and regulations. Failure to do so can even attract penalties. This way, carbon offsets enable regulators to enforce environmental policies and encourage businesses to contribute towards combating global warming.
Many consumers today prefer doing business with companies that label themselves carbon neutral. Some of these companies using carbon offsets to claim that they are “carbon neutral” or even “carbon negative.” This allows such companies to track their carbon footprint and finance projects that reduce emissions. Overall, carbon offsets are quite beneficial and are an effective tool to combat global warming.
