Let’s talk Carbon Credits!

What are carbon credits and why they can play crucial role to help reduce Global Warming

Hola Readers,

I am Sunain, an enthusiastic environmentalist software engineer.

In this article we'll talk about the basics of carbon offsetting in this article, along with some of its biggest benefits and drawbacks.

Carbon Offsets

Carbon offsets are mechanisms that allow individuals and organizations to offset (the replacement of one phenomenon with another that is similar but opposite) activities that emit carbon dioxide (such as air travel) and other greenhouse gases by funding mitigating activities elsewhere (such as planting trees)

By paying someone else to absorb or prevent the release of a tone of carbon dioxide elsewhere, carbon offsets "credit for negating or diminishing the impact of emitting a tone of CO2." If for no other reason than the fact that animals like humans emit CO2, your individual impact on the planet is already carbon-positive. This impact is exacerbated by the use of electricity from non-renewable sources, fossil fuel-powered transportation (especially by air and car), and all related industries and infrastructures.

However, you can lessen the overall impact of some or all of these activities to make them carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative by funding the reduction of carbon emissions in other places.

To sum up, you can pay someone else to lower carbon dioxide emissions for you.

Of course, it's not as simple as it seems, and I'll talk about it in more detail in upcoming articles.

In this example of offsetting XYZ company paid ABC Ngo to remove 2 tones of carbon dioxide from the environment and in exchange ABC Ngo transferred equal amount of Carbon Credits to prove carbon is removed.

Now, let’s talk about it’s Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

1. Carbon offsetting if properly implemented can result making Organizations as well as individuals carbon neutral

2. By carefully selecting projects and vendors, problems with quality, fairness, and unexpected side effects should be able to be reduced, if not entirely eliminated.

3. Projects that offset carbon can also have additional societal advantages, such encouraging the use of renewable fuels. and clean energy

4. Raising awareness and educating people about the effects of climate change and the significance of lowering greenhouse gas emissions are two things that carbon offsetting can do.

5. Improvement in Economic development

Overall, carbon offsetting provides an effective means for individuals and organizations to take action against climate change while also supporting sustainable development and conservation efforts.

While some research indicates that it might only be a short-term fix for a serious problem. I beg to differ; in my opinion, it will have a significant influence since it will remind us to be mindful of our carbon footprint.

once more, it has a flip side much like every coin.

Disadvantages

1. Concerns about the quality of the offsets, such as the possibility that they are counterfeit or in some other manner fail to reduce emissions as promised

2. The risk of a “Rebound” effect - an individual or organization might increase carbon-emitting behavior if given the option to buy carbon offsets.

3. Concerns about fairness include the idea that they serve as a vehicle for shifting emissions reductions from the developed to the developing world or that in some instances (some of which may be fraudulent, but not always) they end up compensating polluters.

As an individual, purchasing carbon credits is an easy and effective way to take responsibility for your carbon footprint, but it is not a substitute for reducing your own emissions. It is important to remember that offsetting should only be done after taking steps to reduce your own carbon footprint.