Truth About Carbon Offsets

In recent years, a product called "carbon offsets" has sprung up to help everyone from world travelers to wedding guests feel better about their impact on the environment. In a nutshell, here's how it works: First you calculate the dollar value of the carbon emissions you produce in everyday life (from transportation choices to events attended) and then spend that amount on offsets sold by one of the many groups in this business. You feel less guilty about your consumption, and a variety of new projects get funded.

There are numerous websites that will provide a calculator for you to punch in your data (type of travel, length of trip, vehicle driven, power used, etc.). This can be an eye opening experience when you see the magic numbers appear and the reality that each of us as consumers contribute to the big picture of pollution, climate change and resource depletion. Visit the NativeEnergy or MyClimate website to help you calculate.

On the flip side, as consumers we can be agents of change through our choices to reduce our individual impact where possible. That's where carbon offset programs come in. Let's say you take a trip involving a cross country flight (which emits more than two tons of greenhouse gases (GHGs) per passenger). You could balance out that impact by investing in a project that reduces global warming emissions, such as a new wind power project that displaces coal energy. The carbon offset program helps you calculate how much of an investment will result in a GHG reduction to match the GHGs generated by your share of the flight. By making that investment (i.e. purchasing offsets) you help fund a project that prevents greenhouse gases from being emitted for each ton that you have caused from your flight, thus making your plane trip essentially "carbon neutral."

Carbon offsetting is one economic action you can take to address climate change, and it can be a powerful one. Many promising projects that would help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions lack the capital they need to get built - your offset purchases can support a wide variety of forward-thinking projects that reduce GHG emissions, including:

Support wind and solar power by purchasing renewable energy certificates, also known as "RECs," or "green tags" from existing green energy facilities or from facilities that are yet to be built representing the environmental benefits these future projects will generate.

Fund "clean development" projects in developing countries, which fight poverty and reduce GHG emissions.

Installation of methane digesters on family farms to capture methane, a potent greenhouse gas generated by livestock, to generate power.

Offset providers maintain that every dollar spent is a dollar that wouldn't otherwise be supporting renewable energy and say it's an effective solution. However, critics of offsets are quick to point out that we're still emitting big clouds of carbon and the only thing that will really help the climate is for us to stop doing that. So first, reduce your emissions by flying less, driving less, driving a higher mileage car or reducing your home energy use.

If you decide to buy offsets, do your research. Look for offsets that support specific projects causing carbon reductions that wouldn't have happened otherwise, whose GHG reductions will happen on a clear timeframe. Choose offset providers (such as Climate Trust or TerraPass) that are independently verified by a third party.

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