Why carbon insetting, not offsetting will help us reach Net Zero
A recent Climate Change report published by IPCC has once again brought to the attention the scale and severity of climate change. Even in the optimistic 1.5°C scenario, extreme events like heatwaves, fires, and droughts will become more common.?
Although many of us make commitments to minimise their carbon footprint, it is the governments and corporations that have the influence and money to fight for our planet.?
Many of them are looking towards offsetting to reach carbon neutrality. Whether it’s planting trees or investing in renewable technology, carbon offsetting projects have the potential to mitigate tonnes of emissions.?
The efficiency of carbon offsets
Carbon offsetting projects are not as effective as they seem. For example, trees can take years, or even decades, to reach their carbon-capturing potential.?
On a mission to rewild more land, we may forget that we need said land to grow our food. A report from Oxfam shows that if we focus on planting forests to reach Net Zero, we will need around 1.6bn hectares – more than all the farmland on the planet. This would impact food security and raise food prices.?
Not to mention that consumers can tell real change from greenwashing. Gone are the days when people would applaud a company planting 100,000 trees. Now they are asking: “What about the plastic in your packaging?”. And they’re right.?
But perhaps the biggest issue with carbon offsets is that they don’t tackle the emissions that are happening within the company’s supply chain. They’re a way of outsourcing responsibility, allowing ‘business as usual’ to continue without long-term change.?
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What is?insetting??
This is where insetting comes in. To put it simply, carbon?insetting?is when a company addresses the emissions within its own value chain. It focuses on the impact of manufacturing, running operations, and transportation.?
The same action can qualify as offsetting or?insetting?in a different context. I know that I’ve been criticising the idea of planting?forests,?but?take the example of Nespresso. They committed to planting 10 million trees within their own coffee farms. And it wasn’t just a step towards carbon neutrality.
The trees would double as carbon sequesters and protectors of the coffee bushes. Shielded from extreme weather and rain, the bushes would produce more coffee for years to come.?
A gift that keeps on giving
Insetting?is about creating a virtuous cycle – it’s a project that generates value for our planet and for the company. It does not sacrifice profit – it?actually generates?more revenue.?
Click?here?to read the full article.?
SME owners: accelerate business growth.
7 个月Fotis, thanks for sharing!
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
2 年Hi Fotis, It's very interesting! I will be happy to connect.
Director & Co - Founder of MyCarbon || Calculating, Reducing and Offsetting Carbon Footprints
3 年But what if your business doesn't have acres of land to plant their own trees?
Head of Production - Navara Oat Milling, Passionate about bringing British Sustainable Oats to the Public
3 年I see so many companies offering carbon-offsetting now as an option and it's good to see. But you're right, if people aren't going to make some real change to the emissions that they produce then off-setting anything is a really short-term way of giving the illusion that you care about the problem, whilst not getting to the core of what's causing it.
It's fascinating that globally the food and drink sector is responsible for over 30% of emissions. We're noticing that many in the sector are taking steps to calculate, report, and compensate. But there is still a huge number of businesses within the supply chain that haven't woken up to their effect on climate change.