CARBON OFFSETTING 101
What is Climate Change?
Climate change is a term used to describe the long-term climate changes, including temperature increases, precipitation changes, and increases in extreme weather, that have been observed in the past several decades. While climate change is also a natural phenomenon that results from cyclical climate patterns, scientists from around the world are in agreement that human activity is very likely the cause for the rapid increase in global average temperatures over the past several decades; particularly the increase in CO2 levels due to emissions from fossil fuel combustion. Consequently, the debate has largely shifted onto ways to reduce further human impact and to find ways to adapt to change that has already occurred. According to the David Suzuki Foundation, “we cannot solve the problem of climate change without strong government action and leadership, but organizations and individuals can also make an important contribution by minimizing their climate impact and reducing their emissions from driving, flying, electricity use, heating, and other sources”.
What is Carbon Footprint?
These emissions called “GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions” represent the “Carbon Footprint” and are the total set of emissions caused by an organization, event or product. More and more individuals, businesses and organizations are looking at reducing their carbon footprint through carbon offsets.
What is the Carbon Footprint of Air Travel?
The nature of our profession – International Development Consultants – is such that we often need to travel by air to places where aid activities are taking place. According to the David Suzuki Foundation, emissions from air travel represents currently [only] between 4 and 9% of the total climate change impact of human activities. However, these CO2 emissions increased by 83% since 1990. It is also interesting to note that travelling by air has a greater climate impact per passenger kilometer compared to other modes of transport and airfreight transport produces the most emissions. See more information at: http://www.grida.no/publications/other/ipcc%5Fsr/?src=/climate/ipcc/aviation/125.htm.
What is Carbon Offset?
A carbon offset is a financial instrument aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions (carbon footprint); there are measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e). Carbon offsets are typically achieved through financial support of projects that reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases in the short or long-term. The most common project type is renewable energy, such as wind farms, biomass energy, or hydroelectric dams. Others include energy efficiency projects, the destruction of industrial pollutants or agricultural byproducts, destruction of landfill methane, and forestry projects.
However, it is important to note that carbon offsets are not a replacement for direct action by emitters to reduce their own carbon footprints. Most scientists agree that industrialized countries like Canada will need to make rapid cuts to their overall carbon emissions if the world is to avoid catastrophic consequences of climate change. Therefore it is recommended that first you apply the principles “reduce, reuse and recycle”, or as one campaign suggests, “count, cut and compel” and, then, try to go carbon neutral (net zero carbon footprint) by purchasing carbon offsets.
Are there Alternatives to Carbon Offsetting?
While carbon offsets have become quite common, there is also some debate about their effectiveness. One alternative is also to provide an opportunity for emitters to channel funds to local vulnerable communities that are most impacted by climate change. One such initiative is AdMit (from the words “adaptation” and “mitigation”), a U.K. initiative that has just completed a pilot program to identify the most affected communities and to devise standards for eligible AdMit projects. The main difference between carbon offsets and the AdMit program, is that offsets attempt to generally reduce carbon emissions, while AdMit attempts to provide assistance directly to those most vulnerable to climate change. As international development consultants are concerned about poverty, this may be an attractive alternative. See www.iied.org/climate-change/key-issues/economics-and-equity-adaptation/admit for more information about how to utilize this program.
How to Calculate your Carbon Footprint?
One of the most important tasks in coming to terms with our carbon emissions is to be able to quantify our emissions. There are many web-based "carbon calculators” that allow you to input, for example, the distance traveled on a flight to find out what your share of carbon emissions are. You can find more information on carbon calculators on the David Suzuki Foundation web site at: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/What_You_Can_Do/carbon_neutral.asp. Unfortunately, common standards for calculating emissions are often not utilized by these simple calculators that are offered for free on many web sites.
If you want to have a more professional and comprehensive assessment of your individual or company carbon footprint, there are also companies and not-for-profit organizations that specialize in assessing the carbon footprint of not only travel but also other aspects of office operations and in reducing it over time. One such organization is the Sustainability Solutions Group that is promoting the “carbon audit and reduction program for non-profit organizations” through a 4 step program: (i) carbon knowledge, (ii) carbon baseline, (iii) carbon planning, and (iv) carbon reductions and tracking (www.sustainabilitysolutions.ca).
How to Purchase Carbon Offsets?
There are mainly two types of markets for carbon offsets: A larger market for companies, governments, or other entities to buy carbon offsets in order to comply with caps on the total amount of carbon dioxide they are allowed to emit (depending on the local legislation in place). A smaller voluntary market for individuals, companies, or governments to purchase carbon offsets to mitigate their own greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, electricity use, and other sources. The latter is the market that may interest international development consultants.
The voluntary market for carbon offsets is not regulated and does not have universal standards. Therefore, it is recommended to do your research before the purchase of carbon offsets. The David Suzuki Foundation recommends that you look for carbon offsets that are accredited by relatively strong, independent standards, such as the CDM or The Gold Standard, which can help ensure that key quality criteria are met. In order to help you to select carbon offset vendors, the David Suzuki Foundation rated 20 carbon offset vendors following a set of 6 criteria: additionality, auditing, ownership, permanence, vendor transparency and public education. The summary of this analysis – including the web sites of these vendors can be found at: (http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Publications/offset_vendors.asp)
What does it mean for International Development Consultants?
- Offsetting emissions due to air travel is a cost: However, as mentioned above it also varies greatly from vendor to vendor; making the selection difficult. For instance, in order to illustrate these differences, if we use an Ottawa-Kigali return economy flight, the calculations indicate the following emissions and offset costs:
o Using the calculator from Planetair (planetair.ca), the flight would produce about 4 tonnes of CO2 and the cost for purchasing carbon offsets would be $160;
o Using Less (less.ca), the total emissions would be about 8.4 tonnes of CO2 and the offset cost would be $395
o With Offsetters (offsetters.ca), the total emissions would be about 3.9 tonnes of CO2 for an offset cost of about $77.
- Carbon offset is also a marketing opportunity for companies: More and more companies produce sustainability performance reports to demonstrate their improvements over the reported period. The transparent disclosure of sustainability performance can be used as a tool to market the company such as mentioning this in corporate brochures, web site and proposals. It should be noted that more and more consulting firms are improving their environmental performance – including carbon offsetting – and using their record in marketing their services.
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A viewpoint: “Off-Setting my International Travel”
It was after reading George Monbiot’s article “On the Flight Path to Global Meltdown” in 2006 that I decided to return something to the planet that I was complicit in degrading by consulting internationally. Although the path of penance I chose is essentially a symbolic one, with many inherent contradictions, it may resonate with other colleagues who hop jet planes more than freight trains for a living.
Since I have yet to meet a client who offers to pay for a consultant’s carbon footprint, I utilize one of many carbon offset calculators available online to determine the number of tonnes of CO2 my consulting travel produces and the corresponding “carbon tax rate”. (Example: Using www.offsetters.ca a trip from Calgary to Tegucigalpa = 1.62 Tonnes of CO2e = Offset of $32, based on $20/Tonne)
I see three alternatives for carbon offsetting. I generally prefer the first two (which essentially involve informal donation mechanisms) over the third alternative (which utilizes a formal offsetting business/agent):
1) Donate the offset money back to the client which has its own sustainable, environmentally friendly projects (This is easier with NGOs than with CIDA);
2) Donate the amount to any one of your favourite Canadian NGOs. (Earmark a donation for a small-scale project with an environmental focus);
3) Donate the offset money to a certified, gold standard project endorsed by leading environmental organizations, to be invested in a renewable energy project (Any number of entities, including Air Canada, will happily take your contribution).
From Murray Luft of Plan:Net Ltd.
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More Information on Carbon Offsets
- You can find more information on the David Suzuki Foundation web site; particularly the “Guide for Canadian Consumers, Businesses, and Organizations” prepared by the David Suzuki Foundation and the Pembina Institute. I can be accessed at: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/files/reports/climate_offset_guide_web.pdf
- The One Less Tonne Challenge at: http://www.onelesstonne.ca/
- For accessing information on carbon offset vendors, go to the analysis conducted by the David Suzuki Foundation that include also the respective web sites of these vendors (http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Publications/offset_vendors.asp)
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