Ethical dilemma: carbon offsetting
Are carbon offsetting schemes just a way of easing our conscience while continuing to push up carbon emissions, or a genuine contribution to solving the problem of climate change? Kati Dshedshorov reports.
Carbon offsetting, carbon footprints – these phrases are becoming the buzzwords for our climatically changing times.
If you take a long-haul flight, drive a gas-guzzling car or leave the TV on standby, you’re contributing to carbon emissions; which means you’re leaving a carbon footprint on the world.
For today’s carbon-conscious consumer, more and more decisions now seem to come with a carbon-cost factor. So can we rub out our carbon footprint?
One option being offered by an increasing number of specialist companies is to ‘offset’ the carbon you put into the atmosphere by paying a fee that is then invested in clean energy or tree planting in the developing world. The theory is that you can displace each tonne of carbon you’re responsible for by contributing towards saving one elsewhere.
If you take a long-haul flight, drive a gas-guzzling car or leave the TV on standby, you’re contributing to carbon emissions; which means you’re leaving a carbon footprint on the world.
For today’s carbon-conscious consumer, more and more decisions now seem to come with a carbon-cost factor. So can we rub out our carbon footprint?
One option being offered by an increasing number of specialist companies is to ‘offset’ the carbon you put into the atmosphere by paying a fee that is then invested in clean energy or tree planting in the developing world. The theory is that you can displace each tonne of carbon you’re responsible for by contributing towards saving one elsewhere.
If only it was that easy
Of course, as with every seemingly simple idea, on closer examination, it’s not quite that simple. The fundamental truth of carbon is that once it’s taken out of the ground as a fossil fuel and put into the atmosphere through burning, you can’t get it back into the ground. Even planting trees is a short-term solution because when trees die and decompose they release all absorbed carbon back into the atmosphere.
Each citizen in the UK produces an average of 9.51 tonnes of CO2 a year, so none of us can immediately eliminate our carbon emissions however much we may wish to do so. Offsetting is a useful way of raising awareness about how much carbon we pump into the atmosphere and a means of funding important clean development projects in poor countries.
And while tree-planting may not be the answer to taking carbon out of the atmosphere, there are other good reasons for planting trees. These include preventing soil erosion, and providing habitats for animals and microclimates for encouraging more rainfall.
Each citizen in the UK produces an average of 9.51 tonnes of CO2 a year, so none of us can immediately eliminate our carbon emissions however much we may wish to do so. Offsetting is a useful way of raising awareness about how much carbon we pump into the atmosphere and a means of funding important clean development projects in poor countries.
And while tree-planting may not be the answer to taking carbon out of the atmosphere, there are other good reasons for planting trees. These include preventing soil erosion, and providing habitats for animals and microclimates for encouraging more rainfall.
It's not just about trees
Other ‘carbon offsetting’ schemes, aimed at preventing additional carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere, include:
- renewable energy from wind, solar, tidal/wave, geothermal and micro-hydro power generation
- bio energy using agricultural and animal waste products for fuel
- efficiency projects aimed at conserving energy
- greenhouse gas capture technologies used by petrochemical and manufacturing plantsp
- renewable energy from wind, solar, tidal/wave, geothermal and micro-hydro power generation
- bio energy using agricultural and animal waste products for fuel
- efficiency projects aimed at conserving energy
- greenhouse gas capture technologies used by petrochemical and manufacturing plantsp
Here’s what ‘the experts’ say
Andrew Pendleton, Christian Aid’s Climate and Development analyst:
'Once you’ve put a tonne of carbon into the atmosphere, it’s there for 100 years, so the idea that you can simply pay to take it away is erroneous. But offsetting can provide much-needed money to invest in renewable energy and clean development in poor countries to help ensure that as they develop, people in countries that are currently not great emitters of carbon don’t become so.
The golden rule is that we must – as a matter of the greatest urgency – reduce our emissions rapidly and as much as we can. Offsetting is a last resort.'
Jutta Kill, climate campaigner of FERN (Forests and the European Union Resources Network): ‘Tree plantations as carbon offsets are misleading and a fake climate fix, the 21st century version of medieval indulgences. People who give money to tree-planting 'offset' schemes feel that they have done their bit. If we want to address climate change we must curb our carbon footprint first of all.’
Charlie Kronick, policy officer at Greenpeace: 'If you are considering carbon offsetting don’t go for monoculture tree plantations. They are not reliable: you can’t keep track of what the benefit is and you can’t measure the effect. Locally-generated renewable energy makes people think about their energy consumption.’
Jim Peacock of the Carbon Neutral Company: ‘Carbon Offsetting is not a silver bullet for climate change, but it is part of a range of options. It helps re-price carbon and the real impact of climate change and this encourages businesses and individuals to look at how they can reduce their impacts at source whilst allowing them to take immediate action on unavoidable emissions.
In the process of becoming carbon neutral, offset is the final step in a three-step process: measuring emissions; reducing emissions; offsetting emissions.’
'Once you’ve put a tonne of carbon into the atmosphere, it’s there for 100 years, so the idea that you can simply pay to take it away is erroneous. But offsetting can provide much-needed money to invest in renewable energy and clean development in poor countries to help ensure that as they develop, people in countries that are currently not great emitters of carbon don’t become so.
The golden rule is that we must – as a matter of the greatest urgency – reduce our emissions rapidly and as much as we can. Offsetting is a last resort.'
Jutta Kill, climate campaigner of FERN (Forests and the European Union Resources Network): ‘Tree plantations as carbon offsets are misleading and a fake climate fix, the 21st century version of medieval indulgences. People who give money to tree-planting 'offset' schemes feel that they have done their bit. If we want to address climate change we must curb our carbon footprint first of all.’
Charlie Kronick, policy officer at Greenpeace: 'If you are considering carbon offsetting don’t go for monoculture tree plantations. They are not reliable: you can’t keep track of what the benefit is and you can’t measure the effect. Locally-generated renewable energy makes people think about their energy consumption.’
Jim Peacock of the Carbon Neutral Company: ‘Carbon Offsetting is not a silver bullet for climate change, but it is part of a range of options. It helps re-price carbon and the real impact of climate change and this encourages businesses and individuals to look at how they can reduce their impacts at source whilst allowing them to take immediate action on unavoidable emissions.
In the process of becoming carbon neutral, offset is the final step in a three-step process: measuring emissions; reducing emissions; offsetting emissions.’
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