The global average concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere registers at over 400 parts per million. In the scope of carbon offsets, direct carbon/air capture (DCC) could play a crucial role in lowering this level because it is one way to permanently remove carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere. So, we had to ask: What are direct carbon capture offsets really, and could they help us mitigate climate change?

Direct carbon/air capture (DCC) offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that uses specialized machinery to suck CO₂ from the atmosphere and then store it permanently. DCC offsets are virtually immediate and one of the most effective solutions; however, they are also expensive and yet to be scaled.

Keep reading to find out all about what direct carbon capture offsets are, how they work, how effective and efficient they are, what their pros and cons are, and what the best ones are. At the end of the article, we’ll also share with you how these offsets can help mitigate climate change and what better alternatives to them are. 

The Big Picture of Direct Carbon/Air Capture Offsets

Carbon offsets play a crucial role in reducing our carbon footprint, the amount of CO₂ emissions associated with an individual or an entity. 

“Carbon footprint: the amount of greenhouse gasses and specifically carbon dioxide emitted by something (such as a person’s activities or a product’s manufacture and transport) during a given period”

Merriam Webster

Basically, a carbon footprint is the amount of carbon emitted by an activity or an organization which includes GHG emissions from fuel that we burn directly and GHG emissions from manufacturing the products that we use.

One way to reduce our carbon footprint is via the use of carbon offsets. These are reductions in GHG emissions that are measured in tons of CO₂ equivalents and are bought and sold through international brokers, online retailers, and trading platforms. 

“Carbon offset: a way for a company or person to reduce the level of carbon dioxide for which they are responsible by paying money to a company that works to reduce the total amount produced in the world, for example by planting trees”

Oxford Dictionary

Essentially, carbon offsets are reductions in GHG emissions that are used to compensate for emissions occurring elsewhere. They do not directly reduce your carbon footprint, instead they make others reduce their carbon footprint to compensate for your carbon footprint. 

Carbon offsets reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions beyond what we each can achieve through individual actions. Direct carbon capture (DCC) offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it permanently in geological reservoirs.

“Direct carbon capture: the process of storing carbon dioxide that has been collected and removed from the atmosphere, in solid or liquid form”

Oxford Dictionary

DCC involves plants that extract carbon from the atmosphere. The captured carbon can then be pumped deep underground, often at depths of 1 kilometer (0.6 miles), and stored in depleted oil reserves, coalbeds, or saline aquifers.

What Are Direct Carbon/Air Capture Offsets

Direct carbon capture (DCC) offsets are a technology-based carbon offset solution, where plants are constructed that suck CO₂ out of the air and store it in underground geological formations. 

Direct carbon capture offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that focus on the practice of carbon removal, or eliminating carbon from the atmosphere. It is one way to mitigate the adverse effects of carbon emissions that occur once they enter our atmosphere.

How Do Direct Carbon/Air Capture Offsets Work

In general, direct carbon capture (DCC) works by sucking atmospheric air into specialized machines which remove the CO₂ so it can be pumped deep underground and stored in geological formations. CO₂ reduction occurs immediately, making DCC an effective way to reduce CO₂ emissions. 

DCC projects reduce CO₂ emissions via the use of plants that literally remove CO₂ from the air:

• For liquid DCC systems, air is passed through chemical solutions to remove the CO₂.
• For solid DCC systems, sorbent filters are heated and placed under a vacuum to release CO₂. 

In both cases of liquid and solid DCC systems:

1. CO₂-free air is released into the atmosphere, 
2. and the captured CO₂ is then mixed with water and pumped several hundred meters underground to be stored permanently in geological formations. 
3. The end result is less CO₂ in the atmosphere and more CO₂ stored beneath the surface of the Earth.

DCC removes CO₂ emissions immediately upon operation of the DCC machines. Once air is sucked into the machines, the CO₂ is filtered out and undergoes a separate process to store it underground. Also, the majority of captured CO₂ is not re-emitted once it has been captured.

How Effective and Efficient Are Direct Carbon/Air Capture Offsets

In terms of efficiency, direct carbon capture (DCC) offsets have a low rate of carbon re-emission, a low land-usage requirement, and a low life-cycle carbon footprint.

In terms of effectiveness, DCC offsets are effective at mitigating climate change because they are permanent and immediate, but they do not reduce your own carbon emissions.

DCC offset projects are efficient at reducing CO₂ emissions because they:

• Can have a low rate of carbon re-emission when the plant is operated by low-carbon electricity
• Can have low land-usage requirements depending on the type of plant and the energy source that powers it
• Have a low life-cycle carbon footprint across their building, operating, and building back stages

DCC offsets are effective at mitigating climate change because they:

• Permanently remove carbon from the atmosphere
• Remove CO₂ emissions immediately upon operation of the DCC machines

However, DCC offsets do not reduce your own carbon emissions, which can lead to greenwashing. This occurs when emissions are only offset and not reduced from the source, and the consumer is deceived into thinking they are offsetting their emissions but in reality they are not. This is why we should first reduce our emissions before relying on offsets.

What Are The Pros and Cons of Direct Carbon/Air Capture Offsets

Direct carbon capture (DCC) offsets are permanent, immediate, improve air quality and protect ecosystems, have low rates of carbon re-emission, have low land-usage requirements, and have a low carbon footprint across their life cycle stages. They also allow us to reduce carbon emissions in ways we wouldn’t be able to accomplish individually.

However, DCC offsets are also expensive, are not yet scaled to compensate for all of our global carbon emissions, and do not reduce your own carbon emissions.

What Are the 7 Pros of Direct Carbon/Air Capture Offsets

DCC offsets have various pros that make them an effective, long-term solution to reducing global atmospheric CO₂ levels.

What Are the 3 Cons of Direct Carbon/Air Capture Offsets

Understanding the drawbacks of DCC offsets is important when implementing the technology on a large scale in order to mitigate climate change.

What Are the Best Direct Carbon/Air Capture Offsets

The market for carbon offsets was small in the year 2000, but by 2010 it had already grown to represent nearly $10 billion worldwide. The voluntary carbon offset market (VCM) is where everyday consumers can purchase carbon offsets to offset their carbon emissions. 

The Ecosystem Marketplace predicts the VCM can grow to $50B by the year 2050. And because DCC offsets are effective and efficient at reducing carbon emissions, they are predicted to make up an increasingly larger share of this market.

On the VCM, Climeworks is the leading business-to-consumer provider of DCC offsets. But there are others using biochar, mineralization, concrete, and the ocean to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and permanently lock it away for decades. Below are our favorite direct carbon capture offsets.

How Can Direct Carbon/Air Capture Offsets Help Mitigate Climate Change

Climate change is a severe and long-term consequence of fossil fuel combustion. DCC offsets can help mitigate climate change because they eliminate fossil-fuel derived carbon from our atmosphere which, if left untreated, can remain there for tens of thousands of years and exacerbate the negative effects of climate change.

How is Climate Change Defined

Climate change is arguably the most severe, long-term global impact of fossil fuel combustion. Every year, approximately 33 bt of CO₂ are emitted from burning fossil fuels. The carbon found in fossil fuels reacts with oxygen in the air to produce CO₂. 

“Climate change: changes in the earth’s weather, including changes in temperature, wind patterns and rainfall, especially the increase in the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere that is caused by the increase of particular gasses, especially carbon dioxide.”

Oxford Dictionary

Atmospheric CO₂ fuels climate change, which results in global warming. When CO₂ and other air pollutants absorb sunlight and solar radiation in the atmosphere, it traps the heat and acts as an insulator for the planet. Since the Industrial Revolution, Earth’s temperature has risen a little more than 1 degree Celsius (C), or 2 degrees Fahrenheit (F). Between 1880-1980 the global temperature rose by 0.07C every 10 years. This rate has more than doubled since 1981, with a current global annual temperature rise of 0.18C, or 0.32F, for every 10 years. 

As outlined in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, we must cut current GHG emissions by 50% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. 

How Do Carbon Offsets Generally Help Mitigate Climate Change

Levels of carbon in our atmosphere that cause climate change have increased as a result of human emissions since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. The global average concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today registers at over 400 parts per million. Carbon offsets can help prevent these levels from increasing even more.

When you hear the words “carbon offset”, think about the term “compensation”. Essentially, carbon offsets are reductions in GHG emissions that are used to compensate for emissions occurring elsewhere. 

Carbon offsets that meet key criteria and verified project standards, are additional and permanent, and are a part of projects that are carried out until the end of their lifespan have the best chance of reducing carbon emissions and therefore reducing climate change. 

When we offset CO₂ we also slow the rate of global temperature rise, which in turn minimizes the effects of climate change. 

How Do Direct Carbon/Air Capture Offsets Specifically Help Mitigate Climate Change

DCC offsets specifically help mitigate climate change because they are certain, measurable, and immediate. 

• DCC offsets are certain: Unlike traditional offsets which simply compensate for your carbon emissions, DCC offsets permanently remove CO₂ from the atmosphere with a low rate of re-emission. Storing the carbon underground in rock formations is also a permanent process. 

• DCC offsets are measurable: Climeworks DCC offsets are measurable, so you know precisely how much carbon dioxide they’ll remove in your name. This allows you to track how much CO₂ you are offsetting compared to what your carbon footprint is.

• DCCs are immediate: CO₂ emissions reductions occur as soon as the machines become operational. Once the machines start sucking in atmospheric air, CO₂ removal begins.

As outlined in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, we must cut current greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. DCC is important to meet these targets because it eliminates carbon, which when emitted, can remain in our atmosphere for tens of thousands of years.

What Are Better Alternatives to Direct Carbon/Air Capture Offsets

If used correctly, direct carbon capture offsets can provide environmental, economic, and social benefits beyond reducing carbon emissions. They have the potential to instigate meaningful environmental change and begin to reverse some of the effects of climate change. 

However, we can’t let this method be a guilt-free way to reduce carbon emissions. Direct carbon capture offsets must be used in conjunction with direct carbon reduction measures until the industry has time to invest, develop, and refine the DCC technology.

These reduction measures don’t have to involve drastic changes either. Actions that may seem small can have a big impact because those small changes add up! You can reduce your carbon footprint in three main areas of your life: household, travel, and lifestyle. 

Reduce your household carbon footprint:

• Wash with cold water: Washing clothes in cold water could reduce carbon emissions by up to 11 million tons. Approximately 90% of the energy is used to heat the water, so switching to cold saves also saves energy.

• Replace incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs: Fluorescent bulbs use 75% less energy than incandescent ones, saving energy and thus reducing electricity demand and GHG emissions.

Reduce your travel carbon footprint:

• Fly less: Aviation accounts for around 1.9% of global carbon emissions and 2.5% of CO₂. Air crafts run on jet gasoline, which is converted to CO₂ when burned.

• Walk or bike when possible: The most efficient ways of traveling are walking, bicycling, or taking the train. Using a bike instead of a car can reduce carbon emissions by 75%. These forms of transportation also provide lower levels of air pollution.

Reduce your lifestyle carbon footprint:

• Switch to renewable energy sources: The six most common types of renewable energy are solar, wind, hydro, tidal, geothermal, and biomass energy. They are a substitute for fossil fuels that can reduce the effects of global warming by limiting global carbon emissions and other pollutants.

• Recycle: Recycling uses less energy and deposits less waste in landfills. Less manufacturing and transportation energy costs means fewer carbon emissions generated. Less waste in landfills means less CH₄ is generated.

• Switch from single-use to sustainable products: Reusing products avoids resource extraction, reduces energy use, reduces waste generation, and can prevent littering.

• Eat less meat and dairy: Meat and dairy account for 14.5% of global GHG emissions, with beef and lamb being the most carbon-intensive. Globally, we consume much more meat than is considered sustainable, and switching to a vegan or vegetarian diet could reduce emissions. 

• Take shorter showers: Approximately 1.2 trillion gallons of water are used each year in the United States just for showering purposes, and showering takes up about 17% of residential water usage. The amount of water consumed and the energy cost of that consumption are directly related. The less water we use the less energy we use. And the less energy we use, the less of a negative impact we have on the environment.

Because DCC offsets are an indirect way and not a direct way of reducing emissions, they alone will not be enough to reduce global carbon emissions significantly. Direct measures of emission reductions, such as reducing individual energy use and consumption, are better alternatives to DCC offsets.

Final Thoughts

Direct carbon capture (DCC) offsets are permanent, effective, and immediate. Purchasing DCC offsets on the VCM can help mitigate climate change because DCC offsets are certain, measurable, and immediate. However, DCC offsets are also expensive, not yet scaled to compensate for all of our global emissions, and do not reduce your own emissions.

The top DCC companies permanently remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and prevent its re-emission for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. But although DCC offsets can instigate meaningful change, they should not be seen as the only solution to climate change. They are effective at reducing CO₂ in the short-term, but in the long term they fail to reduce CO₂ enough. 

When used in conjunction with direct CO₂ reduction measures, carbon offsetting can be much more effective. We should reduce our own carbon footprint as much as possible first, and only then choose the most effective carbon offsets.

Stay impactful,

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