A quick introduction to carbon offsetting. How it works, why we do it, and why it's an important tool in the fight against climate change.
A carbon offset unit represents the removal of one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (t CO2-e) from the atmosphere, or the avoidance of one tonne of emissions. The term carbon dioxide equivalent refers to the summation of multiple greenhouse gasses based on each gasses global warming potential (GWP). The Global Warming Potential (GWP) was developed to allow comparisons of the global warming impacts of different gases. Specifically, it is a measure of how much energy the emissions of 1 tonne of a gas will absorb over a given period of time, relative to the emissions of 1 tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2). For instance, methane has a GWP about 28 times that of CO2.
Let's take the example of forestry projects. These types of projects follow strict international requirements in order to yield carbon offsets. Even before trees are planted, 3rd party validation will take place to make sure that projects will likely produce credits and be able to be monitored. After planting and every 3-5 years thereafter, another 3rd party consultant will travel to the project location to ensure that trees are growing and properly sequestering (pulling out of the air) CO2. All of this is done with oversight from multiple organizations to ensure that calculations are properly employed to measure and verify produced carbon offsets.
Once carbon offsets have been verified they are placed on what's called a Project Registry. Carbon credit registries issue, track and ultimately retire carbon credits for a particular standard(s). Here, standards refer to the strict frameworks designed to validate and verify carbon projects. Retiring in the carbon world refers to when an offset is purchased and thus its associated CO2 cancelled out. At Offsetra we are providing a platform by which you, the consumer or business, can cancel out your own emissions by purchasing carbon offsets from a variety of sustainable projects. In doing so, you are helping finance these projects and further develop awesome sustainability initiatives like ecosystem restoration and renewable energy installation.
When it comes to carbon offsetting, it's absolutely critical that projects are fully certified against rigorous internationally recognized standards.
There are a number of standards out there, such as Gold Standard, VCS, and Plan Vivo. Each of these standards has strict methodological requirements for project developers to follow in order for carbon offsets to be recognized from their work. Third party accredited verifiers check projects when they are underway, and in the case of forestry offsets they usually perform field checks every 3-5 years to ensure modeled carbon sequestration is accurate. If you're curious as to how carbon sequestration verification works in the case of forestry projects - and don't mind diving into some deep research - check out this article: How do you measure the amount of carbon in a tree?
At Offsetra we want to help people empower the carbon economy and humanity's path toward a more sustainable future. Every carbon offset purchase on our site helps finance future projects. You see, the majority of the projects that we help support, whether they be renewable energy or reforestation projects, would struggle to get started if it wasn't for the financial support from selling carbon offsets developed through their work. The more people price in their own emissions, the more we work toward not only reducing our own environmental footprints, but expanding the low-carbon economy of the future.
The carbon economy would collapse if entities could simply say they had sold a carbon offset, only to sell it again to someone else. There's therefore strict controls on how carbon offsets are listed on financial markets and how they are 'retired' which is the technical term for when they are purchased by an individual or business. Once you retire a carbon credit, you can't bring it back the market - and this is the case in every carbon market globally.
If you still have questions, simply reach out to us!
The difference between a ton and a tonne.
You may have noticed that all of our offsets are listed as 'tonnes' rather than 'tons'. What's this all about?