Carbon Offsets Do They Work?

By Kaatje Harrison
EDGI541 Issues in Sustainability
Carbon offsets have been seen as a way to reduce our ecological footprint by
compensating for our carbon and emissions use by buying carbon credits elsewhere that balance
out or negate our additions of carbon into the atmosphere (The Trend is Blue, 2012). There are
four main ways that carbon offsets happen:
1. Reducing emissions - beyond normal operating amounts, in doing so gaining a
carbon credit for what you would have put into the environment that you sell to
someone else. Reduction in emissions includes using / substituting renewal
energy, increasing energy efficiency, using less energy (General Accountability
Office, 2008, p. 17).
2. Greenhouse gas destruction - another way to reduce emissions by siphoning off
industrial by-products like methane and using them as a fuel source in power or
heat generation (GAO, 2008, p. 17; The Trend is Blue, 2012).
3. Biological sequestration - in forestry and agriculture, using trees to soak up extra
carbon in the atmosphere (Campbell & Demas, 2014, GAO, 2008, p. 17).
Generally when an individual thinks of carbon offsets for their own footprint, they
are thinking of those credits they can buy from planting trees through a broker or
planting trees themselves.
4. Geological sequestration - siphoning off emissions and sealing them in a
geological formation like a depleted oil field or saline field with a capstone rock
(Alstom, 2013, GAO, 2008, p. 17).
A 2008 General Accountability Office report (GAO-08-1048) to congress about carbon
offsets found a market plagued by lack of reliability and quality assurance that offsets are really
happening, the amount they represent, and that they are not double-counted or sold more than
once (p. 2). Annie Leonard (2010), a sustainability expert and excess consumerism critic,
examined the global cap and trade market and found that while the idea of setting limits and
trading credits would incentivize us in theory to conform to carbon emissions reductions

Carbon offsets do they work?

necessary, in practice, there are too many loopholes that create false offsets. Leonard (2010)
cautions that due to these loopholes, and placing responsibility and giving a free entry into the
market solely for the polluters, we are not truly reducing our footprint and it is lulling us into a
false sense of having solved or even that we are truly addressing the problem.
Instead of relying on this economic market of commoditized emissions, Leonard (2010)
advocates for tightening this market to make it a closed system thereby meeting its intended goal,
coupled with citizen action, carbon fees and strong laws in molding a system into what we want
it to look like. First, in closing the system of cap and trade, there needs to be a regulated
exchange, with similar quality assurance and reporting requirements of respected economic
exchanges like the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange, an independent not-for-profit body that
sets the rules for its exchange, with government oversight for accountability from the SEC
Securities Exchange Commission) or other international exchange body that will not mirror the
California energy debacle in gaming the system and gouging the consumer of 2000-2001.
Second, carbon fees would be unpopular, but to reflect actual costs on the environment and
change consumer behavior, it would rebalance prices to reflect actual cost to the environment
(Komanoff, 2015, April 15). The unpopularity of this tax could be offset by a revenue neutral
approach, redistributing this tax on polluters (who will pass it on to consumers in the form of
prices) and giving refunds to citizens from these monies (Komanoff, 2015, April 15). I think of
the last two approaches, strong laws and citizen action, citizen action has the clearest avenue to
make a impact, but things like better sustainability management, urban planning etc., need the
support of sound sustainable laws, so these really go hand in hand.
The EPA (2015) put out a clear and concise guideline on what we as individual people
can do to reduce our emissions in our home, office, school, and in transportation. For me, simple
things like being more efficient in energy use at home and in the office like cutting down on light
use, heating and cooling use especially when no one is there or using it are big-ticket items in
reducing our overall fossil fuel use. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle need to be our mantra and
considerations in waiting to replace items and really using what we already have (EPA, 2015).
Other things, like biking and walking more really resonate with me in not only reducing our
emissions, but living a healthier, more fulfilling life (Health and Environmental Benefits of
Walking and Biking, 2015). The EPA (2015) notes Leaving your car at home just two days a
week can reduce your greenhouse gas emissions by an average of two tons per year. That is a
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Carbon offsets do they work?

huge impact on emissions, while increasing our health and happiness at the same time. A 2014
Finnish study further found that riding a bike or walking to school increased academic success
while reducing stress and undesirable behavior (Haapala et al., 2014). I think we need to
consider what our ideal living situation looks like in the context of our environmental footprint,
and how to live happier, more physical, healthier lives (EPA, 2015; Leonard, 2010).
In taking this one step further in expanding on this ideal, incentivizing innovation through
Xprizes gets our brightest thinkers to apply their knowledge and expertise in designing solutions
(Xprize, 2015). Lets see what solutions look like that are addressing the problem in reducing
our emissions without a gamed system. Further, lets fully realize this dream of a sustainable
lifestyle including bicycling more as a transportation source. It is not merely deciding to do this,
but having the infrastructure, bike lanes, etc. to be able to accomplish this (Komanoff, 2015,
March 13).
In summary, carbon offsets can be generated in four different categories. These are
impactful in reducing carbon emissions in the atmosphere, and trading them in a closed system
with oversight and quality assurance would be meaningful. What we currently have, however, is
a false sense of security and a carbon offset system that is fraught with market imperfections
(Leonard, 2010). To proceed, we should close the system and create an exchange or exchanges
to make carbon offset trading meaningful and impactful. Further, we can price carbon use
accordingly through a net-zero revenue carbon tax, with redistribution to individuals in the form
of a dividend or a tax break (Komanoff, 2015, April 15). We can incentivize technology in
solving these issues by engaging our brightest thinkers to solve defined problems in XPrizes
(XPrize, 2015). We need individual action in embracing reduce, reuse and recycle and reducing
emissions by riding bikes more for transportation coupled with laws supporting sustainable
infrastructure in allowing us to reach our goals of happier, healthier lives lived in a sustainable
way.

References
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Carbon offsets do they work?

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