In today’s world, many things emit a large amount of carbon, such as electricity and heat, transportation, agriculture and industrial processes. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which effects and harms the environment in many different ways. We can’t possibly cut off all of our needs that emit carbon no matter how much we want to save the world from it. But there are many alternative ways to reduce our carbon footprint. One of which is carbon offsetting. Here you will learn everything about carbon offsetting as well as the pros and cons of it. Let’s dive in to find out.
What is Carbon Offsetting?
Before knowing the cons and pros and ways of carbon offsetting, let’s take a look at what actually carbon offsetting is and how it works.
Carbon Offsetting 101
Carbon offsetting means buying carbon credits to compensate for the carbon emission caused by you. For instance, when you drive a car, you purchase carbon credits equivalent to the amount of carbon emitted by the car. After buying carbon credits, the money is invested in reducing carbon from the atmosphere in different ways such as planting forests.
Carbon offsetting is simply investing in projects that reduce the carbon from the environment. As a result, a balance of carbon is maintained in the atmosphere so that carbon dioxide doesn’t harm living beings: humans, animals, and plants. This way, you help saving the life on Earth.
How Do Carbon Offsets Work?
Carbon offsetting works mainly in two ways. Here, we will learn about both methods. The first option is carbon offsetting being done by the cap and trade market way in which the government gives an organization a specific goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. They reach that goal by cutting off or lowering their greenhouse gas emissions.
Another method is the voluntary method in which any person, company or organization can reduce or cut off their carbon emission to save the environment. Carbon offset projects decrease the use of old vehicles and use new-generation vehicles such as electronic cars (EV). They also include forestation projects where carbon is reduced from the atmosphere by planting trees. It all depends on the amount of carbon that they have to reduce.
Pros of Carbon Offsets
There are many pros to carbon offsets. Let’s take a look at the pros of carbon offsets and learn about how they are becoming more and more beneficial for us and for the environment!
The most significant advantage of buying carbon offsets is that you know your carbon footprint on Earth will be reduced. When you decide to do that by yourself, you can doubt yourself or start procrastinating, but this isn’t the case when you buy a carbon offset. When you invest your money in carbon offsets, you know for sure that you will achieve zero footprint. The money from your investment will go into the Gold Standard or VCS carbon offsetting projects to reduce carbon from the environment. Procrastination is a part of human nature. If you think you can’t stay dedicated to reducing your carbon footprint, all you have to do is buy a carbon offset.
It’s Easier than Trying to Do It by Yourself
Buying carbon offsets is easier compared to reducing your carbon footprint. If you’d like to hit the record high on reducing your carbon footprint then you have to stop driving cars; go out and plant gardens and take many other measures. If you run a business or an industry that emits a lot of greenhouse gases, then you have to make a proper plan or even shut down your business as well. All these don’t really seem possible. Obviously, buying carbon offsets is easier than reducing your carbon footprint by yourself.
Businesses Are More Aware of Their Carbon Emission
Companies and industries that release a large amount of carbon every year are more aware of the amount of carbon emission that they contribute to. It is because before buying carbon offsets, you have to know how much carbon you emit! This way, when they know about the exact amount of carbon and greenhouse gases they emit in the environment, they will also try to reduce it. As a result, they won’t have to buy a lot of carbon offsets.
Carbon Neutralizing Will be Done without Doing Anything
Companies, products, even events they all can go carbon neutral and there are many environmental benefits that come with carbon neutralizing. It is because more than the usual amount of greenhouse gases in the air can cause a lot of difficulties for living beings. Buying carbon offsets neutralizes carbon in the atmosphere where a balance is maintained that is neither beneficial nor harmful for the environment. You don’t have to do much to achieve carbon neutrality since all you need to do is pay for carbon offsets and your work is done here. It’s nice to help saving our planet from the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions just by sitting at your home and doing your daily routine, isn’t it?
Cons of the Carbon Offsets
As a thing has pros to it, it has disadvantages as well because nothing can be perfect. Carbon offsets aren’t any exception. Let’s know about the cons of carbon offsets!
You Become Dependent
When you buy a carbon offset, you are basically paying someone else to do your work while you continue to produce carbon in the atmosphere. This way, you become dependent on someone else for your responsibility. But it’s important to keep reducing your carbon emissions whenever you get a chance. There are many ways to do that.
It Will Neutralize and Won’t Reduce Carbon
When you buy carbon offsets, different measures are taken to neutralize the carbon present in the air. But you don’t stop producing carbon. This way, you only neutralize the environment but not reduce carbon from it. To reach a zero-carbon footprint, you need to take consistent action.
Reduce Your Footprint & Offset the Rest
If you are someone who can’t find a way to reduce their carbon footprint, then carbon offset is a good option for you. Keep reducing your carbon footprint and offset the rest.