By
Grace Smoot

Long-term climate change mitigation will require effective and efficient methods of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission reductions. Since agriculture is one of our largest producers of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, pairing them with carbon offsets could be a way to facilitate this. So, we had to ask: how effective and efficient are agricultural carbon offsets?

Agricultural carbon offsets effectively store carbon long-term, protect soil health, and reduce methane emissions; however, they can be difficult to monitor and verify. They are efficient because they are cost-effective, yet they face scalability and carbon storage capacity limitations.

Keep reading to find out how effective and efficient agricultural carbon offsets are, how you can offset your carbon footprint with them, what their pros and cons are, how they can mitigate climate change, and what better alternatives to agricultural carbon offsets are. 

The Big Picture of the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Agricultural Carbon Offsets

Carbon offsets are reductions in carbon emissions that are used to compensate for carbon emissions occurring elsewhere. They are measured in tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalents and are bought and sold through international brokers, online retailers, and trading platforms on what is known as the global carbon offset market. 

“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 reforestation”

Oxford Dictionary

Agriculture is an industry that ranges from small local farmers to commercial grain and livestock operations. It involves soil, crops, and livestock all working together.

“Agriculture: the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products”

Merriam Webster Dictionary 

Agricultural carbon offsets are a specific type of carbon offset designed to mitigate GHG emissions from agriculture including, but not limited to, the addition of fertilizers to soils, manure management, field burning of crop residues, and fuel usage on farms.

“Agricultural carbon credits: increase the storage of carbon from the air into the soil through improved forest, grassland and cropland practices” 

Some examples of agricultural practices that can generate carbon offset credits include:

• Agroforestry
• Soil carbon maintenance
• Methane capture from livestock
• Peatland management
• Livestock and manure management
• Nutrient management on cropland and grasslands

And of these practices, some of the most common agricultural carbon offset projects typically involve:

• Biochar: CO₂ absorbing-charcoal that is formed when biomass (e.g., crop residue, grass, trees, waste) is combusted in the absence of oxygen at temperatures of 300–600°C (572-1112°F). It can be tilled into soils, stored in long-lasting products, buried deep underground, or used as an additive for construction, plastics, paper, and textiles.

• Agroforestry: the integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems. Alley cropping, forest farming, silvopasture, riparian buffers, and windbreaks are all examples of agroforestry practices. 

• Avoided grassland conversion to cropland: grasslands are often identified as key areas for conversion to cropland because they account for 20-40% of Earth’s land area and have rich soils. Protecting this ecosystem is crucial to maintaining biodiversity and its carbon storage capacity. 

• Methane (CH₄) capture: Agriculture is the predominant source of methane (CH₄) emissions, which is 25 times more potent than CO₂ at trapping heat in our atmosphere. CH₄ capture from livestock and the installation of anaerobic methane digesters for manure conversion and on-farm electricity generation are common agricultural offset projects.

How Do Agricultural Carbon Offsets Work	Agricultural offsets are a specific type of carbon offset involving the agriculture industry, which ranges from small local farmers to commercial grain and livestock operations. Agricultural offset projects reduce CO2 emissions by supporting projects that mitigate GHG emissions from agriculture including the addition of fertilizers to soils, manure management, field burning of crop residues, and fuel usage on farms.
How Effective Are Agricultural Carbon Offsets at Mitigating Climate Change	Agricultural offsets can store carbon for long periods of time Agricultural offsets protect soil health Agricultural offsets reduce methane (CH4) emissions Agricultural offsets can be difficult to monitor and verify Agricultural offsets do not reduce your own emissions
How Efficient Are Agriculture Carbon Offset Programs at Reducing CO2 Emissions	Agricultural offsets are relatively cost-effective Agricultural offsets are not yet scaled to compensate for our global emissions Agricultural offsets face storage capacity limitations

Here’s How Effective and Efficient Agricultural Carbon Offsets Are

In terms of effectiveness, agricultural carbon offsets can store carbon for long periods of time, protect soil health, and reduce methane (CH₄) emissions. However, they can be difficult to monitor and verify, and they do not reduce your own carbon emissions, which can lead to greenwashing.

In terms of efficiency, agricultural carbon offsets are relatively cost-effective; however, they are also not yet scaled to compensate for our global emissions and face storage capacity limitations. 

How Effective Are Agriculture Carbon Offset Programs at Reducing CO₂ Emissions

Effectiveness involves completing a task with a desired outcome, typically a successful one. 

“Effective: producing the result that is wanted or intended; producing a successful result”

Oxford Dictionary

Agricultural carbon offsets can store carbon for long periods of time, protect soil health, and reduce methane (CH₄) emissions. However, they can be difficult to monitor and verify, and they do not reduce your own carbon emissions, which can lead to greenwashing.

Agricultural Carbon Offsets Can Store Carbon For Long Periods of Time

Experts estimate that biochar tilled into soils and not disturbed can store CO₂ for centuries to millennia, making it a long-term carbon sequestration solution. Also, biochar that has been incorporated into soils is 10-100 times more stable than the biomass it was derived from, leading to less carbon leakage and a slower overall rate of CO₂ degradation. As long as the lands are not developed, the sequestered carbon can remain stored underground.

In short, agricultural carbon offsets such as biochar offer more permanence than other methods of carbon sequestration, with biochar locking away CO₂ for centuries or millennia.

Agricultural Carbon Offsets Protect Soil Health

Biochar is commonly used as a fertilizer because it breaks down slower than traditional animal manure. Studies have shown that biochar can enhance agricultural productivity and soil sustainability by improving soil structure, soil water-holding capacity, and nutrient cycling. Its ability to persist longer in soils also leads to decreased erosion and reduced runoff. 

Some agroforestry practices, such as planting trees amongst crops or grazing fields, can also improve soil health. Trees cycle nutrients, allowing animals and fungi who live in the soil to flourish. Tree roots also bind soil in place, leading to reduced erosion and increased water filtration.

Lastly, avoided grassland conversion projects protect grassland biomes, which are commonly turned into cropland or grazing lands. Temperate grasslands in particular are known to have dark, fertile, nutrient-rich soils due to the decay of branched, grass roots. When grasslands become degraded, the soils re-emit carbon which is converted to CO₂ in the atmosphere. 

In short, agricultural carbon offsets such as biochar, agroforestry, and avoided grassland conversion can enhance or protect soil health.

Agricultural Carbon Offsets Can Reduce Methane (CH₄) Emissions 

Agriculture is the predominant source of methane (CH₄) emissions, with livestock alone accounting for approximately 32% of human-caused CH₄ emissions. CH₄ is 25 times more potent than CO₂ at trapping heat in our atmosphere, which exacerbates global warming. 

CH₄ capture from livestock and the installation of anaerobic methane digesters for manure conversion and on-farm electricity generation are common agricultural offset projects. They prevent CH₄ from entering our atmosphere, and because CH₄ is more potent than CO₂, removing it is a quick way to slow the rate of global warming, at least in the short term.

In short, agricultural offsets reduce CH₄ emissions via CH₄ capture, combustion, or conversion to energy projects.

Agricultural Carbon Offsets Are Difficult to Monitor and Verify

Agricultural emissions themselves are difficult to measure and manage because there are hundreds of millions of farmers around the world, most of which are farming small plots of land. In order to exact change on a global scale, we would have to incorporate agricultural offset practices such as biochar, agroforestry, and methane capture on a massive scale and for hundreds of years into the future. This would be difficult to do both socially and economically.

In addition, the fact that there are multiple types of agricultural carbon offsets makes them difficult to standardize, verify, and monitor. 

For example, Verra, the American Carbon Registry, and the Gold Standard all have different methodologies for biochar and biochar projects. There are also different governing organizations for biochar, including The European Biochar Certificate (EBC), The US Biochar Initiative, and The International Biochar Initiative.

In short, the many different types of agricultural offsets can make standardization, verification, and monitoring difficult.

Agricultural Carbon Offsets Do Not Reduce Your Own Carbon Emissions

One of the main limitations of carbon offsetting, in general, is that purchasing a carbon offset does not directly reduce your carbon footprint. It only makes others reduce their carbon footprint to compensate for your carbon footprint. 

If emissions are only offset and not reduced from the source, this could lead to greenwashing, when the consumer is deceived into thinking they are offsetting their emissions but in reality, they are not. Companies accused of greenwashing either invest in non-verified credits, do not prioritize in-house emissions reductions, or double-count carbon credits. Or sometimes, all of the above.

In short, because agricultural carbon offsets do not reduce your own emissions, they could lead to greenwashing.

How Efficient Are Agriculture Carbon Offset Programs at Mitigating Climate Change

Efficiency involves performing a task while using the least amount of resources and producing the least amount of waste as possible.

“Efficient: working in a way that does not waste a resource (= something valuable such as fuel, water, or money)”

Cambridge Dictionary

Agricultural carbon offsets are relatively cost-effective; however, they are also not yet scaled to compensate for our global emissions and face storage capacity limitations. 

Agricultural Carbon Offsets Are Relatively Cost-Effective

Agricultural carbon offsets are not just cost-effective, but the externality costs of inaction are dire. The agricultural sector is responsible for around 12% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is the biggest contributor of methane, a GHG more potent than CO₂. Agricultural carbon offsets are one of the ways to reduce these emissions and create more sustainable agricultural practices.

For example, agricultural offsets from some leading providers (e.g., Vi Agroforestry, One Tree Planted, and Terrapass) cost less than $40 per ton of CO₂ offset. Compare this to direct carbon capture offsets which can cost anywhere from $100-$1,200 per ton of CO₂.

In short, agricultural carbon offsets are relatively cost-effective when compared to other methods of carbon emission reduction.

Agricultural Carbon Offsets Are Not Yet Scaled to Compensate For Our Global Emissions

Carbon offsets in general are currently not sufficient to compensate for all of our carbon emissions. We emit more than 37 billion tons of carbon annually, but carbon offset credits for only ~1 billion tons of CO₂ have been listed for sale on the voluntary market. The number of sellers also exceeds the number of buyers by about 600-700 million tons. Because agricultural offsets are only a small subsection of the larger carbon offset market, they are also inadequate in terms of offsetting emissions from our global GHG emissions generation.

In addition to the 37+ billion tons of CO₂ we emit every year, we emit approximately 570 million tons of CH₄, a significant amount of which comes from agriculture. Experts also predict the world’s population will increase by 2 billion people in the next 30 years. More people means more mouths to feed; therefore, agriculture production and subsequent GHG emissions from agriculture will continue to increase. 

In short, agricultural offsets occupy a small part of the carbon offset market and are not yet scaled to compensate for the billions of tons of GHGs we emit.

Agricultural Carbon Offsets Face Carbon Storage Capacity Limitations

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that global soil carbon sequestration could mitigate up to about 5.3 Gigatons of CO₂ per year by 2030. However, for as much as our soils can store CO₂, too much can have adverse effects. 

Studies have shown that too much CO₂ in the soil can have negative effects on root water absorption, chlorophyll, starch content, and total biomass. So although the upper limit of soil carbon sequestration is relatively unknown, soil CO₂ saturation can become an issue before the upper limit is even reached. This means biochar can only store a finite amount of CO₂ in our soils. 

Agroforestry also faces carbon storage capacity limitations because trees can only store so much carbon. How much carbon trees can store is dependent on the type of tree and a host of environmental factors, but a typical tree can absorb anywhere from 10-40kg (22-88 pounds) of CO₂ per year.

If we use an average of 40 pounds of carbon absorbed, we would need to plant more than 200 billion trees every year to compensate for all of our emissions. A number that is far away from the about 1.9 billion trees currently planted every year.

In short, carbon storage capacity limitations of biochar and agroforestry prevent agricultural offset efforts from compensating for all of our carbon emissions, though we still have a long way to go to reach full storage capacity.

How Could You Offset Your Own Carbon Footprint With Agricultural Carbon 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 agricultural carbon offsets encompass many different types of offsets in a $13 billion industry, they are predicted to gain more traction in the market.

Agricultural Carbon Offsets	Quick Facts
Husk	About: Husk converts rice husks into biochar, fertilizers, and biopesticides via smokeless pyrolysis, preventing the re-emission of carbon into the atmosphere.  Costs: Husk uses resellers to sell its solutions. Visit Patch’s website to learn more about pricing.
Vi Agroforestry	About: Vi Agroforestry specializes in poverty reduction and environmental improvement through agroforestry and improved farming practices.  Costs: $28 per 1,000kg of CO2 offset
Native Energy	About: Native Energy offers a variety of regenerative agricultural carbon offset projects including avoided grassland conversion, farm methane, and soil carbon. Costs: Costs are determined after initial contact.
Carbofex	About: Carbofex’s pyrolysis technology takes waste biomass from urban or agricultural sources and turns it into biochar, which can then be used to enhance agricultural soils or to produce renewable energy. Costs: Carbofex uses resellers to sell its solutions. Visit the Puro.earth website to learn more about their respective pricing.
Novocarbo	About: Novocarbo uses pyrogenic carbon capture and storage, which converts CO2 into regenerative energy and biochar. The biochar can be used as soil, as a replacement for cement, and in regenerative agriculture. Costs: Novocarbo uses resellers to sell its solutions. Visit the Puro.earth, or Carbonfuture website to learn more about their respective pricing.
One Tree Planted	About: Carbon offset purchases support agroforestry projects such as the fruit tree planting project in India, which combats deforestation and plants a variety of fruit trees (banana, peach, pear, guava, mango) to provide farmers with food and income. Costs: $20 per 1,000kg of CO2
Pacific Biochar	About: Pacific Biochar has partnered with biomass power plants to modify their equipment to produce biochar. They take forest biomass from high fire hazard areas in California, US, and turn it into biochar, which is then distributed on agricultural fields or in collaboration with compost yards. Costs: Pacific Biochar uses resellers to sell its solutions. Visit the Carbonfuture website to learn more about their respective pricing.
Carbo Culture	About: Carbo Culture converts CO₂ from plants into biochar and stores it permanently underground. Costs: Costs are determined after initial contact
Terrapass	About: Terrapasses farm power offset projects involve capturing methane and generating electricity from livestock manure. Costs: $16.51-$17.63 per 1,000kg of CO2
NetZero	About: NetZero uses agricultural residues (e.g., coffee or cocoa husks and shells; sugarcane bagasse; coconut shells and fibers; peanut or cashew shells; palm empty bunches) to produce biochar via pyrolysis. Costs: NetZero uses resellers to sell its solutions. Visit the Puro.earth website to learn more about their respective pricing.

What Are The 5 Pros and 4 Cons of Agricultural Carbon Offsets

Agricultural carbon offsets can store carbon for long periods of time, protect soil health, reduce methane (CH₄) emissions, are cost-effective, and allow us to reduce carbon emissions in ways we wouldn’t be able to accomplish individually.

However, agricultural carbon offsets can also be difficult to monitor and verify, are not yet scaled to compensate for our global emissions, face carbon storage capacity limitations, and do not reduce your own carbon emissions, which can lead to greenwashing.

What Are the 5 Pros of Agricultural Carbon Offsets

Agricultural carbon offsets have various pros that make them effective at reducing carbon emissions.

5 Pros of Agricultural Carbon Offsets	Quick Facts
#1: Agricultural carbon offsets can store carbon for long periods of time	Experts estimate that biochar tilled into soils and not disturbed can store CO2 for centuries to millennia, making it a long-term carbon sequestration solution. As long as the lands are not developed, the sequestered carbon can remain stored underground.
#2: Agricultural carbon offsets protect soil health	Agricultural offsets such as biochar, agroforestry, and avoided grassland conversion can enhance or protect soil health by improving soil structure, soil water-holding capacity, and nutrient cycling.
#3: Agricultural carbon offsets reduce methane (CH4) emissions	CH4 capture from livestock and the installation of anaerobic methane digesters for manure conversion and on-farm electricity generation are common agricultural offset projects. They prevent CH4 from entering our atmosphere, and because CH4 is more potent than CO2, removing it is a quick way to slow the rate of global warming, at least in the short term.
#4: Agricultural carbon offsets are relatively cost-effective	Agricultural offsets from some leading providers (e.g., Vi Agroforestry, One Tree Planted, and Terrapass) cost less than $40 per ton of CO2 offset. Compare this to direct carbon capture offsets which can cost anywhere from $100-$1,200 per ton of CO2.
#5: Agricultural carbon offsets allow us to reduce carbon emissions in ways we wouldn’t be able to accomplish individually	Agricultural offsets such as biochar, agroforestry, CH4 capture, and avoided grassland conversion allow us to reduce emissions from activities where sustainable alternatives are not yet widely available.

What Are the 4 Cons of Agricultural Carbon Offsets

Understanding the drawbacks of agricultural carbon offsets is important in order to effectively mitigate climate change.

4 Cons of Agricultural Carbon Offsets	Quick Facts
#1: Agricultural carbon offsets can be difficult to monitor and verify	There are multiple types of agricultural offsets, which can make standardizing, verifying, and monitoring them difficult. Also, we would have to incorporate agricultural offset practices such as biochar, agroforestry, and methane capture on a massive scale and for hundreds of years into the future to exact change on a global level.
#2: Agricultural carbon offsets are not yet scaled to compensate for our global emissions	Because agricultural offsets are only a small subsection of the larger carbon offset market, they are also inadequate in terms of offsetting emissions from our global GHG emissions generation.
#3: Agricultural carbon offsets face carbon storage capacity limitations	Biochar and agroforestry practices have carbon storage capacity limitations. Studies have shown that too much CO2 in the soil can have negative effects on root water absorption, chlorophyll, starch content, and total biomass. And how much carbon trees can store is dependent on the type of tree and a host of environmental factors, but a typical tree can absorb anywhere from 10-40kg (22-88 pounds) of CO2 per year.
#4: Agricultural carbon offsets do not reduce your own carbon emissions, which can lead to greenwashing	If emissions are only offset and not reduced from the source, this could lead to greenwashing, when the consumer is deceived into thinking they are offsetting their emissions but in reality, they are not.

How Can Agricultural Carbon Offsets Help Mitigate Climate Change

Climate change is a severe and long-term consequence of fossil fuel combustion. Agricultural carbon 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 billion tons (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 the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement outlines, 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 Agricultural Carbon Offsets Specifically Help Mitigate Climate Change

Agricultural carbon offsets such as biochar, agroforestry, avoided grassland conversion, and farm methane can specifically help mitigate climate change because they all aim to reduce CO₂ emissions, albeit via different pathways. They can also act as permanent carbon sequestration and reinforce our terrestrial carbon sinks.

For example, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), biochar alone could potentially remove up to 2.6 billion tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere.

What Are Better Alternatives to Agricultural Carbon Offsets

If used correctly, agricultural carbon 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. Agriculture offsets must be used in conjunction with direct carbon reduction measures to create long-term emission reductions. 

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 agricultural carbon 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 agricultural carbon offsets. 

Final Thoughts

Agricultural carbon offsets are effective because they can store carbon for long periods of time, protect soil health, and reduce methane (CH₄) emissions. However, they can be difficult to monitor and verify, and they do not reduce your own carbon emissions, which can lead to greenwashing. Agricultural carbon offsets are efficient in the sense that they are relatively cost-effective; however, they are also not yet scaled to compensate for our global emissions and face storage capacity limitations. 

Carbon offsets can instigate meaningful change, but 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 agricultural carbon offsets.

Stay impactful,

Sources

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Offsets and RECs -What’s the Difference?
• Britannica: Carbon Offset
• David Suzuki Foundation: Are carbon offsets the answer to climate-altering flights?
• Tristar: Agriculture – An Industry Overview
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources: Ag Carbon Credits
• World Resources Institute: Everything You Need to Know About Agricultural Emissions
• eAgronom: Different types of carbon offsets in farming you need to know
• US Department of Agriculture: Agroforestry
• American University – The Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy: Soil Carbon and Biochar
• Ceezer: How biochar emerged as an unexpected champion in the fight against the climate crisis
• World Wildlife Fund: Why grasslands are so important
• National Geographic: Grasslands
• US Environmental Protection Agency: Importance of Methane
• Native Energy: Noblehurst Family Farm Project
• Impactful Ninja: What Are Agricultural Carbon Offsets and How Do They Work? The Big Picture
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology Climate Portal: Soil-Based Carbon Sequestration
• National Library of Medicine: Effect of Biochar on Soil Properties, Soil Loss, and Cocoyam Yield on a Tropical Sandy Loam Alfisol
• US Biochar Initiative: Biochar Enhances Crop Yield, Enriches Soil & Protects Water
• Soil Association: Agroforestry – what are the benefits?
• UC Museum of Paleontology: The grassland biome
• Our World in Data: Emissions by sector
• UN Environment Programme: Methane emissions are driving climate change. Here’s how to reduce them
• Verra: Verra Publishes VCS Biochar Methodology
• American Carbon Registry: Methodology for Biochar Projects
• Gold Standard: Soil Organic Carbon Framework Methodology
• The European Biochar Certificate (EBC): Homepage
• The US Biochar Initiative: Homepage
• The International Biochar Initiative: Homepage
• Edie: Carbon offsetting – How are businesses avoiding greenwashing on the road to net-zero?
• Statista: Agriculture emissions worldwide – statistics & facts
• Vi Agroforestry: Homepage
• One Tree Planted: Homepage
• Terrapass: Homepage
• Impactful Ninja: 10 Best Direct Carbon/Air Capture Offsets (Complete 2023 List)
• Statista: Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions worldwide from 1940 to 2022
• Yale Environment 360: Is the ‘Legacy’ Carbon Credit Market a Climate Plus or Just Hype?
• Verra: Verified Carbon Standard
• International Energy Agency: Methane tracker 2020
• United Nations: Population
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Homepage
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Agriculture
• National Library of Medicine: Impact assessment of high soil CO₂ on plant growth and soil environment: a greenhouse study
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology: How many new trees would we need to offset our carbon emissions?
• 8BillionTrees: How Many Trees are Planted Each Year?
• Carbon Offset Guide: Voluntary Offset Programs
• Ecosystem Marketplace: Voluntary Carbon Markets Top $1 Billion in 2021 with Newly Reported Trades
• The Business Research Company: Agriculture Market Size, Trends and Global Forecast to 2032
• Impactful Ninja: Best Agricultural Carbon Offsets
• Husk: Homepage
• Native Energy: Homepage
• Carbofex: Homepage
• Novocarbo: Homepage
• Pacific Biochar: Homepage
• Carbo Culture: Homepage
• NetZero: Homepage
• Impactful Ninja: Agricultural Carbon Offsets: All 5 Pros and 4 Cons Explained
• ecotree: How much CO₂ does a tree absorb?
• World Nuclear Association: Carbon Emissions from Electricity
• Natural Resources Defense Council: Global Warming 101
• myclimate: What does “net zero emissions” mean?
• United Nations Convention Framework on Climate Change: The Paris Agreement
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Climate Change – Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
• Terrapass: Carbon Offset Projects
• Carbon Offset Guide: Additionality
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Homepage
• Reverse Carbon: IPCC – Biochar – potential to remove 2.6 billion tonnes CO₂
• The Ocean Foundation: Reduce Your Carbon Footprint 
• Energy Information Administration: Renewable Energy Explained
• Energy Star: Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) and Mercury
• Our World in Data: Where in the world do people have the highest CO2 emissions from flying?
• Zero Waste Europe: Reusable vs Single Use Packaging
• Carbonbrief: Interactive – What is the climate impact of eating meat and dairy?
• Stop Waste: Recycling and Climate Protection
• Impactful Ninja: Is Taking Long Showers Bad for the Environment?
• United States Environmental Protection Agency: Showerheads
• Impactful Ninja: 4 Main Reasons Why Reducing Your Carbon Footprint is Important