Infographic: How are carbon offsets supposed to work?
Carbon offsets can be purchased by companies, governments or individuals seeking to meet a net-zero target or simply make a contribution to tackling climate change.
This process is often presented as a simple transaction in which paying for the offset directly leads to, say, trees being planted or wind turbines erected.
In reality, a complex system of project developers, auditors, registries and third-party suppliers stands between the buyer and the emissions-cutting project.
Theoretically, the offsetting arithmetic is simple, with an emissions increase in one place cancelled out by an emissions reduction somewhere else. But, along the way, there are plenty of opportunities for errors – intentional or otherwise – to creep in.
The post Infographic: How are carbon offsets supposed to work? appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”