Carbon Offsetting – A Tool

The 1.5°C target under the Paris Agreement—that is the goal we are striving to achieve. We do not want global temperatures to rise any higher than that, as the consequences for people and nature would be far too severe. Today, at the start of 2022, we unfortunately already have a temperature increase of around 1.2°C. The IPCC has now determined that time is too short to rely solely on reducing emissions; other measures are needed simultaneously to capture and sequester what we have already emitted. By 2050, global greenhouse gas emissions must be balanced against the amount that is sequestered. For companies and organizations, this means that every tool in the toolbox must be utilized, and one such tool is voluntary carbon offsetting, which, if used responsibly, can accelerate efforts to curb dangerous climate change.

Climate offsetting needs to increase

Voluntary offsetting is currently a very small part of the measures used in the pursuit of the 1.5˚C target, and it would need to be scaled up significantly during this decade. With each passing year, the costs of dealing with various impacts linked to climate change will become higher and higher. Meeting the cost today, for example through carbon offsetting, is cheaper than dealing with climate change in the future when it has worsened.

So what types of carbon offsets are there?

The projects can be divided into two groups - "Reductions" and "Removals". In the past, renewable energy projects, such as wind farms in China and India, have been the most common. Today, however, these projects have very low or no additionality, i.e. the projects would most likely have been implemented even without money from carbon offsets. In addition to a project's CO2 credits being measurable, verifiable, traceable and durable, the requirement for additionality is central - money from carbon offsetting must make a real difference. Today, the renewable energy market stands on its own two feet and does not need funding from carbon offsetting to operate and thus additionality is low.

Focus on negative emissions – Removals

In the debate on net-zero and climate neutrality with regard to emissions, there is currently a strong focus on negative emissions, i.e. “removals”. This includes natural climate solutions such as tree planting, which, thanks to photosynthesis, absorbs and stores carbon dioxide. ZeroMission working with Plan Vivo tree planting projects since 2006 and currently has several different projects in our portfolio. Technologies are also being developed to permanently store or sequester carbon, for example in bedrock. These are technologies the world is eagerly awaiting, but currently no such technology is certified according to the standards for voluntary carbon offsetting. Furthermore, there are only a handful of pilot projects worldwide, and the prices per ton are still very high compared to, for example, tree planting.

As with most things, you get what you pay for. Old credits with low real climate impact are cheap, while credits with high additionality and positive co-benefits cost more. In between, there are of course projects all along the 'benefit scale'. At ZeroMission , we have high demands on the projects we sell credits from, so if you choose to offset through us, it will have a good effect on the climate. For many years, we have also had a policy that our projects should also have a positive effect based on several of the UN's sustainability goals, such as contributing to jobs locally. In this way, we believe that our customers sleep well at night - the voluntary carbon offset you pay for provides real benefits both for the planet and locally in the projects.

Offset Your Carbon Footprint with ZeroMission: Measure – Reduce – Offset

To conclude, we are happy to repeat our mantra on how we think companies and organizations should act to accelerate the transition of our society: Measure - Reduce - Commit (Climate Compensate). Measure your emissions, reduce in line with the Paris Agreement's 1.5˚C target and at the same time take responsibility today for the emissions you have over time. Preferably by carbon offsetting in projects that bind carbon dioxide - this is the most credible and serious way to act and, as stated above, it is needed to meet the target.

If you want to see the seminar in full, it is available below. ZeroMission's CEO, Claire Wigg, and Johanna Brunge Grant, Climate Strategist, will moderate and answer some listener questions at the end.