How Carbon Offsetting and Sourcing Helps Reduce Carbon emissions
Carbon offsetting is an environmental activity in which companies or individuals to offset their Carbon emissions against the Carbon emissions of other companies or individuals. For what can not be offset, perhaps because of a lack of technological infrastructure or prohibitively expensive costs, individuals and companies can still compensate for their inevitable Carbon emissions by purchasing Carbon offsetting credits. This process can either be purchased from offsetting companies or through a Carbon offsetting program.
A Carbon offsetting program is a more encompassing approach to offsetting, wherein an account is established with the Environmental Protection Agency or other federal agencies that require Carbon offsetting credits to be purchased. These programs are voluntary and businesses and individuals that buy Carbon offsetting credits are generally required to purchase these credits from companies or organizations that are listed in the program.
In the past, Carbon offsetting was seen as an effective way to slow or even reverse global warming. However, advances in technology, new knowledge about how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the need to make substantial reductions in the use of fossil fuels have presented problems for companies and individuals who rely on the current state of the global environment and its environmental trends. Some companies and individuals are working toward reducing their Carbon footprint and implementing policies and technologies to mitigate their emissions. However, some businesses and individuals have remained resistant to the idea of Carbon neutral or residual emission reduction because they believe that these measures would be too expensive or inefficient.
In an effort to increase awareness and participation in efforts to reduce Carbon emissions and decrease greenhouse gas emissions, a number of companies and some individual companies have developed or introduced innovative programs, such as Carbon offsetting or renewable energy procurement. While this type of activity has been around for decades, recent improvements in technology and methods for procuring renewable energy have made this kind of program far more affordable and accessible.
This allows projects to finance themselves through the production of surplus or even surplus parts, which is then used to offset industrial costs for renewable energy projects. In addition, renewable energy projects can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by producing their own electricity, thereby decreasing the overall amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by industry.
Carbon offsetting and renewable energy procurement both play an important role in addressing climate change and promoting sustainability, but Carbon offsetting is more often viewed as the more immediate and direct solution. Carbon offsetting works in two ways. First, a company or organization that has developed a high-Carbon product or activity will compensate for the market or geographical advantage that would otherwise be provided by its competition through offsetting or procurement. Second, companies and organizations that participate in Carbon offsetting programs or procure renewable energy from local communities or other jurisdictions will do so in order to reduce their overall emissions and expenses for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
