What Are Agricultural Carbon Offsets and How Do They Work: The Big Picture
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Agriculture is a $13 billion industry, encompassing everything from small, local farmers to commercial grain and livestock operations. The industry is also responsible for significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions, which could be reduced via the use of carbon offsets. So, we had to ask: What are agricultural carbon offsets really, and could they help us mitigate climate change?
Agricultural carbon offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that mitigate CO2 and CH4 emissions from the agriculture industry, most commonly via biochar, CH4 capture, agroforestry, and avoided grassland conversion projects.
Keep reading to find out all about what agricultural carbon offsets are, how they work, what their project life-cycle is, how effective they are, their pros and cons, and how they can help mitigate climate change.
The Big Picture of Agricultural Carbon Offsets
Carbon offsets play an important role in mitigating the effects of global climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions beyond what we each can achieve through individual actions. Agricultural carbon offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that involves mitigating GHG emissions from the agriculture industry, which ranges from small local farmers to commercial operations.
How are carbon offsets defined | Reductions in GHG emissions that are used to compensate for emissions occurring elsewhere. |
What are agricultural carbon offsets | Agricultural carbon offsets involve emissions associated with the agriculture industry, which ranges from small local farmers to commercial grain and livestock operations. |
How do agriculture projects offset CO2 emissions | 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. |
When do agriculture projects offset CO2 emissions | Biochar and CH4 capture immediately remove CO2 and CH4 emissions, avoided grassland conversion immediately avoids CO2 emissions, and agroforestry practices have a delay in CO2 emission reductions. |
What is the project life-cycle of agricultural carbon offsets | Building: The building of agricultural offsets includes building the technology and implementing the various agricultural mechanisms. Operating: There are very few emissions or waste products associated with operating and maintaining agricultural projects, making the carbon footprint of this phase low. End-of-life: The end-of-life of agricultural offsets would include the end-of-life of the technology or anything that negates the project’s effectiveness. |
How effective and efficient are agricultural carbon offsets | 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. 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. |
What are the best agricultural carbon offsets? | The best agricultural carbon offsets are offered by Husk, Vi Agroforestry, and Native Energy, which involve biochar, agroforestry, avoided grassland conversion, and methane capture projects across the globe. Carbofex and Novocarbo also repurpose waste and CO2 into biochar and sustainable products. |
What Are Agricultural Carbon Offsets
Carbon offsets are reductions in GHG emissions that are used to compensate for emissions occurring elsewhere. They are measured in tons of CO2 equivalents and are bought and sold through international brokers, online retailers, and trading platforms.
Agricultural carbon offsets involve emissions associated with the agriculture industry, which ranges from small local farmers to commercial grain and livestock operations.
How Are Carbon Offsets Defined
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. This includes GHG emissions from fuel that we burn directly (e.g., heating a home, driving a car) and GHG emissions from manufacturing the products that we use (e.g., power plants, factories, and landfills).
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
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 can range anywhere from a couple of hundred tons of CO2 per program per year to thousands of tons of CO2 per program per year.
How Are Agricultural Carbon Offsets Defined
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 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 (CH4) capture from livestock
- Peatland management
- Livestock and manure management
- Nutrient management on cropland and grasslands
How Do Agricultural Carbon Offsets Work
Agricultural offset projects reduce CO2 emissions by supporting projects that mitigate GHG emissions from various agricultural practices.
Some of the most common agricultural offset projects target biochar, agroforestry, avoided grassland conversion, and methane (CH4) capture. Overall, these projects can reduce CO2 and CH4 emissions, protect soil health, and mitigate climate change.
How and When Do Agricultural Carbon Offsets Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Agriculture carbon offsets aim to reduce CO2 emissions associated with various agricultural activities including fertilizers, conversion to cropland, and CH4 emissions from livestock.
Another goal of agricultural carbon offsets is to reduce the total amount of methane (CH4), the second most abundant greenhouse gas (GHG) behind CO2 with a global warming potential 25 times more potent than CO2. Even a little CH4 can greatly exacerbate global warming and its effects.
How Do Agricultural Carbon Offsets Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
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.
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.
When Do Agricultural Carbon Offsets Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Biochar and CH4 capture projects immediately remove GHGs directly from the atmosphere, albeit via different methods. Biochar removes CO2 immediately via uptake by plants, which results in a reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels. As soon as biochar is tilled into the soil, it can begin removing CO2. CH4 capture removes CH4 emissions immediately upon operation of the machines. Once air is sucked into the machines, the CH4 is filtered out and then can be burned or converted into renewable energy.
Avoided grassland conversion projects immediately avoid CO2 emissions that would be created if grasslands were converted into croplands. Grasslands 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 stored carbon, which is converted to CO2 in the atmosphere. Protecting these ecosystems helps prevent carbon re-emission from soils.
Lastly, agroforestry projects such as planting trees come with a delay in carbon emission reductions because you have to wait for the trees to reach maturity before they can begin to reduce carbon emissions. All trees mature at different rates, but a typical hardwood tree takes around 20 years to reach maturity. This means we must wait decades after planting the tree to begin to reap most of the environmental benefits.
Creating new forests is also time intensive because finding suitable land and physically planting the trees to create a new forest takes time. Also, there is always the risk of, e.g., droughts, wildfires, tree diseases, and deforestation wiping out newly planted trees, negating any carbon reduction benefits.
What Could Prevent Agricultural Carbon Offsets From Being Realized
Agricultural carbon offsets can 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.
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.
Carbon offsets in general are currently not sufficient to compensate for all of our carbon emissions and 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 agricultural production.
Biochar and agroforestry can face 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 trees can only store so much carbon, with how much carbon trees can store depending on the type of tree and a host of environmental factors. A typical hardwood tree can absorb anywhere from 10-40kg (22-88 pounds) of CO2 per year.
Lastly, 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.
What Is the Project Life-Cycle of Agricultural Carbon Offsets
To fully understand agricultural carbon offsets, we must assess each stage of its life cycle. This life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a method to evaluate the environmental impacts of products and materials. Over the years, companies have strategically used LCA to research and create more sustainable products. So, we had a look at the LCA for agricultural carbon offsets!
Building of Agricultural Carbon Offsets
The building of agricultural offsets includes building the technology and implementing various agricultural mechanisms.
Biochar is created via pyrolysis in biomass power plants. Building the components in a biomass plant requires machinery that emits CO2. The storage tanks, furnaces, boilers, condensers, and separators are all components that have a carbon footprint.
Agricultural CH4 capture occurs via small-scale digesters, covered anaerobic lagoons, plug flow digesters, complete mix digesters, or advanced digesters. All of these technologies also require machinery that emits CO2.
For agroforestry, identifying farms in need of reforestation is the first step, and physically planting trees is the second step. Transporting trees to specific planting locations is also one aspect of this stage with a carbon footprint.
For avoided grassland conversion, identifying areas in most need of protection is the first step, and putting measures in place to guarantee their preservation is the next step. High concentrations of temperate grasslands can be found in South Africa, Hungary, Argentina, Uruguay, the steppes of the former Soviet Union, and central North America.
Operating and Maintaining of Agricultural Carbon Offsets
There are very few emissions or waste products associated with operating and maintaining agricultural projects, making the carbon footprint of this phase low.
Biochar and CH4 emissions at the operating and maintenance stage occur upon combustion of biomass or capture of CH4 and are associated with the operation of the mechanical equipment at the respective facilities. The thermochemical conversion of biomass into biochar emits little CO2, as does the CH4 capture process.
Agroforestry and avoided grassland conversion projects require little technology and maintenance for them to run effectively. The operating/maintaining stage is also where the offsetting promised by these projects occurs. For agroforestry, trees absorb CO2 as they grow and incorporate it into their trunks, branches, roots, and leaves. And protecting the grassland biome helps prevent soil carbon re-emission.
End-of-Life of Agricultural Carbon Offsets
The end-of-life of agricultural offsets would include the end-of-life of the technology or anything that negates the project’s effectiveness.
Because biochar is 10-100 times more stable than the biomass it was derived from, it can store CO2 for centuries to millennia. However, if the soils are disturbed or developed, this could lead to carbon being re-emitted. Biomass power plants also have a historical life expectancy of 20-30 years. CO2 emissions would occur when utilizing construction equipment to demolish the buildings and construct new buildings in the old power plant’s place.
Biogas power plants, which contain the anaerobic digesters used in CH4 capture, have a historical life expectancy of 20-30 years. CO2 emissions at this stage occur when utilizing construction equipment to demolish the buildings and construct new buildings in the old power plant’s place.
Agroforestry trees are susceptible to a host of environmental disasters such as floods, fires, changes in land use, and climate change itself. Trees also die naturally over time, which can negate any permanence and signal the end-of-life of the carbon offset.
The end-of-life of avoided grassland projects involves what happens when the protection period is over. Grasslands that are not protected can be subject to conversion to cropland.
The Northern Kenya Rangelands Project: An Example Project of Agricultural Carbon Offsets
The Northern Kenya Rangelands Project is the first large, landscape-scale soil carbon project of its kind. It was developed to improve 1.9 million hectares of savannah grassland and sequester carbon in the northern Kenya rangelands via land management practices including coordinated rotational grazing of domesticated livestock. Improved grasslands can lead to enhanced soil carbon sequestration, healthier habitats, and increased biodiversity.
The project is certified according to the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance Standards (CCBA). You can support this project by going to Native’s website and contacting a team member.
How Effective and Efficient Are Agricultural Carbon Offsets
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.
Agricultural carbon offsets are effective at mitigating climate change because:
- Biochar tilled into soils and not disturbed can store CO2 for centuries to millennia, making it a long-term carbon sequestration solution.
- Biochar, agroforestry, and avoided grassland conversion can improve soil structure, soil water-holding capacity, and nutrient cycling.
- CH4 capture from livestock and the installation of anaerobic methane digesters for manure conversion and on-farm electricity generation help prevent CH4 from entering our atmosphere
However, agricultural carbon offsets can also lack effectiveness because agricultural emissions themselves are difficult to measure and manage, and because 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.
Agricultural carbon offsets are efficient at reducing CO2 emissions because biochar, agroforestry, CH4 capture, and avoided grassland conversion are relatively cost-effective, averaging less than $40 per ton of CO2 offset.
However, agricultural carbon offsets can also lack efficiency because:
- They are not scaled enough to keep pace with the global GHG emissions of a growing population
- Carbon storage capacity limitations of biochar and agroforestry prevent agricultural offset efforts from compensating for all of our carbon emissions
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 a specific type of carbon offset that involves mitigating emissions associated with the agriculture industry, most commonly via biochar, CH4 capture, agroforestry, and avoided grassland conversions projects.
Although agricultural 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. agricultural offsets also do not reduce your own carbon emissions, which can lead to greenwashing.
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,
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- ecotree: How much CO2 does a tree absorb?
- Science Direct: Life-cycle assessment (LCA)
- MIT SMR: Strategic Sustainability Uses of Life-Cycle Analysis
- US Department of Agriculture: What is Pyrolysis?
- US Energy Information Administration: Biomass Explained
- Global Methane: Agricultural Methane – Reducing Emissions, Advancing Recovery and Use Opportunities
- US Department of Energy – Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy: Biopower Basics
- One Tree Planted: How Planting Trees Offsets Carbon
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Useful Life
- Native Energy: Homepage
- Native Energy: Northern Kenya Rangelands Project
- Verified Carbon Standard (VCS): Homepage
- Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance Standards (CCBA): Homepage
- Gmail: Native Energy
- Impactful Ninja: How Effective and Efficient Are Agricultural Carbon Offsets? Here Are the Facts
- 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
- Impactful Ninja: 10 Best Direct Carbon/Air Capture Offsets (Complete 2023 List)
- 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