Is Carbon Offsetting a solution to Global Warming?

Question

Is carbon offsetting a good idea? What is your point of view?

Answer 1

amazing how much this gets talked about, people are forgetting that EVERYTHING is made of carbon, global warming is a natural occurance, like global cooling. the earth has always had ice ages and heat waves due to the waxing and waning of the planet on it's axis, about every 10,000 years. in 10,000 more years we will have another ice age. the effect we have on it is minimal, you cant change it without offsetting the balance of the planet on it's axis.

Answer 2

No,its not and can anyone see that eventually the money will run out.Is it wise to ask every human being on the planet to offset(instresting word huh)what you use in everyday life and can you not see that even with,if there was one,the best plan it can't possiably work?Lets just say everyone had to pay $10.00 a month(tax )what about the countries so poor they can't even eat to live much less pay this amount which does seem small to us.So what do you do with them kill em?After all if you people keep up this nonesence it can possiably become a law sometime in the future,might not be that long off.I think Mr Bush is already trying to figure out ways to milk the public don't be surprised if a new tax shows up on your water or garbage and just remember you allowed it thinking you have done your part you aren't responsile lol.While you go right on with your life you have no compassion for others.The best way is to find better soulations not at the public's expense,enforce clean acts already on the books,make business responsible for the products they make not the people who buy them.Conservation is always in style.Reuse,recycle,redo.Simple.

Answer 3

OBVIOUSLY IT IS A MECHANISM, NOT A SOLUTION.

It is rather a way to implement the solutions

A majority of people do not understand what a carbon offset and a carbon credit is (the two are different).

Answer 2 and 3 are the best but are still confused on the following points:

- Offsets are (by far) not only from forestry projects
- Green tags in the US are not really exactly offsets. Carbon credits and offsets in the US are still very small in volume compared to the rest of the world and most of them are voluntary carbon offsets from the Chicago climate exchange.

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To keep it simple:

A carbon credit is a "right to emit a certain amount of CO2" in a system where a cap-and-trade exist (meaning only a certain quantity can be emitted through the whole economy or the sectors covered: this quantity is the cap). The credit can be bought and sold and corresponds to a certain amount of CO2 (in tonne). A company can receive a certain amount of carbon credits for free (allocation). If it emitts more than it has credit for, it needs to purchase some. On the contrary, a company can have a surplus of credits and sell them.

A carbon offset can exist without cap-and trade system (e.G. in the US). An offset is a REDUCTION OF EMISSIONS due to AN ADDITIONAL FINANCING WITHOUT WHICH THE PROJECT WOULD NOT HAVE OCCURED (ADDITIONALITY). Examples of offsets are CDM Projects under the Kyoto Protocol (Clean Development Mechanism).
An example is the production of electricity through the capture of biogas which replaces coal generated electricity. As the GREEN PROJECT WOULD NOT HAVE OCCURED EVEN IF IT COSTS ONLY 5% LESS (Due to economical rational rules such as competition), then carbon credits are used to close the gap and turn the project into a viable one.
These projects can be:
- industrial energy efficiency
- afforestation/avoided deforestation
- green power generation
- waste gas recovery
- fuel switch & biomass
- programms
- etc.

Offsets can often be used as carbon credits under certain rules. Since we all share the same atmosphere, a contribution to CO2 reduction in China, where it might be less expensive has the same effect as one in Britain.


In theory: the cap-and-trade approach is the most efficient since the system will also search first for the cheapest CO2 abatements throughout the economy. As the cap can be set, the price is unknown and the execution of the process can be bureaucratic. Setting the cap is the most difficult.

Answer 4

Assuming you believe in Global warming in the first place, and we can get onto whether offsetting helps without a huge debate on the nature of reality....

Carbon offsetting is a good idea, and it may help and be part of the solution, but it is nowhere near as useful as cutting consumption and/or reducing emissions.

The idea behind offsetting is that for every tonne of CO2 you use running your house, car, holiday or whatever, you invest a bit of money is a scheme (usually tree planting) that takes that carbon back out of the atmosphere.

The problem is that most of the offsetting schemes assume that you can plant a hundred trees, and magically all is well. Of course, this isn't really true. Those trees have to grow to maturity and that takes a good number of years, if it happens at all. Trees can get burned down, diseased etc etc, and most take 20-30 years to come to maturity.

Further some evidence suggests that only certain near equatorial regions are good for reforestation as a way to fix carbon.

There are other offset schemes, but again most rely on the idea that the carbon will go back "into the bank" over 20-30 years, but you have already used it right now.

So, it is a good idea, it is well intentioned, and it is part of the solution. But it is nowhere near being "the" solution.

Answer 5

Global warming is a natural occurring cycle. This whole carbon offset thing is a money making scheme so people can try to feel good about themselves, but in reality they are making Al Gore or whoever else made this crap up.

Answer 6

Hi there,

Is carbon offsetting a solution to global warming? Well, yes and no... It depends on how you look at it really.

First let me give a brief overview of what carbon offsetting is. Essentially you purchase units, commonly (but not always) referred to as "green tags" which offset either a certain tonnage of CO2, or offset a particular amount of energy, whether it be electrical, natural gas, etc...

This is common with electric utilities offering "renewable energy only" plans, chances are that a consumer who signs up for such a plan will still get most of their power from coal/nuclear during the morning, a mix of coal/nuclear/natural gas in the afternoon, and coal/nuclear in the evening.

What a consumer is doing when purchasing "green energy" is essentially requiring the utility company to ensure that they fund, build, and maintain a renewable energy source somewhere on their grid that produces enough energy to compensate for the "green" energy purchased by their consumers.

Do offsets give people permission to pollute? Absolutely not! Rather, we should first seek to reduce consumption and then offset what is left.

Offsets are an important part of a still small and vulnerable sector, they serve to invigorate small business, fund research, create local, domestic jobs, and best of all preserve the planet for generations to come.

If you plan on purchasing offsets, please do so from a trustworthy source. The offset market, just as any new market is not very regulated, there are unfortunately enough, a lot of scammers out there who take the money and run.

I am providing you with two links for further investigation: The first is greentagsusa.org, they are the only US not-for-profit provider of green tags, Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) is well known in the pacific northwest for their watershed restoration programs, and in my opinion are the most trustworthy of green tag retailers.

The second, terrapass, is one of the pioneers of offsets this for profit company owned by the umbrella corp GreenShift does not offer green tags, rather what they call "credits". Your money when purchasing from terrapass goes to two places:

1. To fund private development of renewable energy sources, sufficient to offset the amount of carbon you have chosen
2. Leftover money and profits from terrapass go to fund other Green Shift companies which all deal in, as the name suggests shifting our world toward the "greener" side. GS has holdings in a number of biodiesal, ethanol, carbon sequestration, and alternative technology companies.

Answer 7

Plant a tree trees take in carbon and releases oxygen, also takes in water . purifies it and releases it into the air, so plant a tree and be happy

Answer 8

6 Billion or so breathing and exhaling carbon dioxide as well as all the animals and why you have such a problem .

Answer 9

No - Carbon offsetting is like 2 people who plan to lose weight with one person eating as much as he wants while the other starves. Together the sum of their weight shows that their diet is working even though one is getting heavier.

Answer 10

With all the answers that i read that you have I'm laughing my hind end off . What a scam . Everyone send me 5 cents a month and ill run my air purifier for an hour a day as the pot gets bigger ill get a bigger air purifier