What Are Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets and How Do They Work: The Big Picture
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Energy-efficiency carbon offsets avoid carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions because they develop energy-efficient mechanisms, which use less energy to perform tasks. This can then mitigate climate change and have positive impacts on public health. So, we had to ask: What are energy-efficiency carbon offsets really, and could they help us mitigate climate change?
Energy-efficiency carbon offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that develop and improve systems requiring less energy to perform tasks. Energy-efficiency projects reduce CO2 emissions immediately, strengthening our natural carbon sinks and aiding in the transition away from fossil fuels.
Keep reading to find out all about what energy-efficiency 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 Energy-Efficiency 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. Energy-efficiency carbon offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that upgrade conventional systems into ones that use less energy to perform the same task.
How are carbon offsets defined | Reductions in GHG emissions that are used to compensate for emissions occurring elsewhere. |
What are energy-efficiency carbon offsets | Energy-efficiency carbon offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that upgrade conventional systems into ones that use less energy to perform the same tasks. |
How do energy-efficiency projects offset CO2 emissions | Energy-efficiency carbon offsets avoid CO2 emissions because energy-efficient mechanisms use less energy. And because energy is often generated by fossil fuels or in unsustainable ways, the less energy we use, the less carbon we emit. |
When do energy-efficiency projects offset CO2 emissions | Energy-efficiency projects offset CO2 emissions as soon as energy-efficient mechanisms are installed, switched on, or implemented. |
What is the project life-cycle of energy-efficiency carbon offsets | Building: CO2 emissions at the building stage occur upon the construction of the energy-efficiency technology and transportation of the technology to various project sites. Operating: There are very few CO2 emissions or waste products associated with operating and maintaining energy-efficiency projects, making the carbon footprint of this phase low. End-of-life: The end-of-life of energy-efficiency offsets would include the end-of-life of the technology or anything that negates the project’s effectiveness. |
How effective and efficient are energy-efficiency carbon offsets | Energy-efficiency carbon offsets are effective because they help reduce deforestation to strengthen our natural carbon sinks and bolster energy security to help transition away from fossil fuels. However, they can also lack additionality and do not reduce your own carbon emissions, which can lead to greenwashing. Energy-efficiency carbon offsets are efficient because they avoid carbon emissions immediately, promote energy decentralization, and are relatively cost-effective. However, they can also lack standardization and monitoring. |
What are the best energy-efficiency carbon offsets | The best energy-efficiency carbon offsets are offered by Carbonfund, DelAgua, South Pole, and Ecologi which all support various energy-efficiency projects across the globe. In addition, myclimate and Clear offer various offsets for individuals and businesses that support clean cookstoves projects. |
What Are Energy-Efficiency 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.
Energy-efficiency carbon offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that upgrade conventional systems into ones that use less energy to perform the same task.
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 and 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 Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets Defined
Energy efficiency describes products or systems that use less energy than conventional systems to perform the same task. Energy-efficiency carbon offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that upgrade conventional systems into energy-efficient ones.
“Energy efficiency: the use of less energy to perform the same task or produce the same result.”
U.S. Department of Energy
Examples of energy-efficiency projects include:
- Energy-efficient solutions for disadvantaged households
- Energy-efficient buildings use less energy to heat and cool
- Energy-efficient facilities use less energy to manufacture goods
- Energy-efficient transportation reduces fuel usage
How Do Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets Work
Energy-efficiency carbon offsets avoid CO2 emissions because energy-efficient mechanisms use less energy. And because our energy is often generated by fossil fuels or in unsustainable ways, the less energy we use, the less carbon we emit.
Some of the most common energy-efficiency projects involve energy-efficient cookstoves, water filtration programs, and co-generation facilities. Overall, these projects save money, increase the resiliency of our power grid, positively impact public health, and mitigate climate change.
How and When Do Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Upgrading to energy-efficient methods is one of the most meaningful ways you can help preserve the environment and combat global climate change. Energy efficiency avoids carbon emissions immediately and also provides numerous benefits in addition to climate change mitigation.
How Do Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Energy-efficiency offsets help eliminate CO2 emissions from direct fossil fuel combustion and from indirect electricity generation. By using energy-efficient appliances and methodologies, we reduce the amount of CO2 entering our atmosphere.
When Do Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Energy-efficient mechanisms begin reducing CO2 emissions immediately upon installation or implementation because they use less energy to perform tasks. Avoiding carbon emissions immediately also leads to immediate reductions in atmospheric carbon and climate change mitigation.
What Could Prevent Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets From Being Realized
To be beneficial, energy-efficiency offsets must be additional, meaning that carbon emissions reductions would not have occurred without intervention. But energy-efficiency projects are often not additional because many projects receiving revenue now would have been built regardless. The large demand for energy-efficient practices, in general, means that the infrastructure could have been built independently of energy-efficiency carbon offsets.
Also, centralized solutions are easier to keep track of by nature. But energy-efficiency solutions are decentralized, whereby power is generated at or near locations where it will be used. Therefore, there are different standards for different types of energy-efficiency practices. Appliances, lighting, buildings, cooking, and fuels are held to different standards, making it difficult to standardize energy efficiency as a singular entity.
What Is the Project Life-Cycle of Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets
To fully understand reforestation 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 reforestation offsets!
Building of Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets
CO2 emissions at the building stage occur upon the construction of the energy-efficiency technology and transportation of the technology to various project sites.
Many components are required to construct energy-efficiency mechanisms, and building these components requires machinery that emits CO2. For example, there are many different types of cookstoves (e.g., griddle, rocket, forced-air, gasifier) that all have different components. Water filtration systems, cookstoves, and co-generation facilities also all have a carbon footprint due to the construction and transportation of the technology to the project site.
Operating and Maintaining of Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets
There are very few CO2 emissions or waste products associated with operating and maintaining energy-efficiency projects, making the carbon footprint of this phase low.
CO2 emissions at this stage are associated with the operation of the technology (e.g., water filters, cookstoves, and cogeneration facilities) at the project sites. And because these technologies use less energy to operate, they generally have a lower carbon footprint. For example, clean cookstoves can emit 50-80% less carbon than traditional wood-burning stoves.
End-of-Life of Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets
The end-of-life of energy-efficiency offsets would include the end-of-life of the technology or anything that negates the project’s effectiveness.
The life expectancy of energy-efficiency solutions varies depending on the specific solution.
Therefore, water filtration systems, cookstoves, and waste cogeneration facilities would all have different lifespans. If properly maintained, these technologies are built to last.
It is also important to note that in order for energy-efficiency offsets to be effective, they must replace the formerly inefficient method, not just be an addition. For example, clean cookstoves projects can only avoid carbon emissions if people discontinue open-fire cooking. But in reality, many continue to cook over open fires as well as use clean cookstoves. This can actually lead to an increase in overall carbon emissions.
Tubeho Neza (“Live Well”): An Example Project of Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets
The Tubeho Neza (“Live Well”) project is a Rwandan clean cookstoves project. It was launched by DelAgua in 2013, in partnership with the Government of Rwanda, to transform the lives and environment of rural African communities. It is one of the largest programs of its kind which has helped avoid CO2 emissions and pull families out of poverty.
To date, the project has provided over 6 million Rwandans with 1.3 million stoves, free of charge. The stoves use small twigs and branches, which people can collect without cutting down trees, using 71% less wood than a traditional fire and thereby reducing deforestation.
The Rwandan cookstoves project is certified by the Verified Carbon Standard and also adheres to multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals. You can visit DelAgua’s website and contact a representative to purchase your carbon offsets.
How Effective and Efficient Are Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets
In terms of effectiveness, energy-efficiency carbon offsets help reduce deforestation and strengthen our natural carbon sinks, and bolster energy security to help transition away from fossil fuels. However, they can also lack additionality, and they do not reduce your own carbon emissions, which can lead to greenwashing.
In terms of efficiency, energy-efficiency carbon offsets avoid carbon emissions immediately, promote energy decentralization, and are relatively cost-effective. However, they can also lack standardization and monitoring.
Energy-efficiency carbon offsets are effective at mitigating climate change because they:
- Reduce the demand for wood fuels, thereby reducing deforestation and strengthening our natural carbon sinks
- Bolster energy security by providing reliable, affordable access to fuels and energy sources that emit less carbon than traditional fossil fuels
However, energy-efficiency carbon offsets can also lack effectiveness because they often lack additionality because many projects receiving revenue now would have been built regardless.
Energy-efficiency carbon offsets are efficient at reducing CO2 emissions because they:
- Avoid carbon emissions immediately after installation of the technology
- Promote energy decentralization, whereby power is generated at or near locations where it will be used
- Are relatively cost-effective when compared to other methods of carbon emission reduction
However, energy-efficiency carbon offsets can also lack efficiency because they often lack standardization and monitoring due to them being a decentralized solution.
Also, energy-efficiency carbon 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.
How Could You Offset Your Own Carbon Footprint With Energy-Efficiency 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 energy-efficiency carbon offsets are effective and efficient at reducing carbon emissions, they could make up an increasingly larger share of this market. Below are our favorite energy-efficiency offsets.
Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offset Company | Quick Facts |
Carbonfund | About: Purchases support energy-efficiency carbon offset projects including efficient cookstoves, water filtration, waste co-generation, and tailpipe emissions reduction. Costs: $16.25-$17.16 per 1,000kg of CO2 for individuals, $390-$1,560 per year for small businesses, determined after initial contact for large businesses |
DelAgua | About: Purchases support the Rwandan clean cookstoves energy-efficiency carbon offset project. Costs: Costs are determined after initial contact |
South Pole | About: Purchases support energy-efficiency carbon offset projects including clean cookstoves in China, Mali, and Rwanda. Costs: Costs are determined after initial contact |
Ecologi | About: Purchases support energy-efficiency carbon offset projects including efficient cookstoves in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Ghana, and Honduras. Costs: $6.04 per 1,000 kg of CO2 offset |
myclimate | About: Purchases support energy-efficiency carbon offset projects including efficient cookstoves in Kenya, Bolivia, Peru, and Madagascar. Costs: $ 23-$30 per 1,000kg of CO2 |
GoClimate | About: Purchases support energy-efficiency carbon offset projects including the clean-burning stoves in Kenya project. Costs: $16.99 per 1,000kg of CO2 for monthly subscriptions, B2B determined after initial contact. |
CarbonClick | About: Purchases support energy-efficiency carbon offset projects including the Improved Cooking Practices in Nigeria project. Costs: $20 per 1,000kg of CO2 |
Clear | About: Purchases support energy-efficiency carbon offset projects including improved cookstoves in Kenya and Malawi. Costs: 18.99-$25 per 1,000kg of CO2 |
Wren | About: Purchases support the clean cooking fuel for Refugees project in Uganda, which converts farming waste into charcoal bricks to be used as cooking fuel. Costs: $19.80 per 1,000 kg of CO2 offset |
Native Energy | About: Purchases support energy-efficiency carbon offset projects including the Madagascar Solar and Efficient Cookstoves project. Costs: $15.50 per 1,000 kg of CO2 |
Cool Effect | About: Purchases support energy-efficiency carbon offset projects including the Breath of Fresh Air clean cookstoves project in Honduras, which builds cookstoves in rural communities. Costs: $8.79 – $21.97 per 1,000 kg of CO2 |
Zero Smart | About: Purchases support energy-efficiency carbon offset projects including the efficient cookstoves project in Eritrea, which empowers local women to build, install and maintain fuel-efficient cookstoves. Costs: $5.37 – $5.97 per 1,000 kg of CO2 |
3Degrees | About: Purchases support energy-efficiency carbon offset projects including the BioLite Improved Stove Programme in Uganda, which provides communities with ultra-clean burning fan-assisted wood stoves that reduce air pollution. Costs: Costs are determined after initial contact |
Co2nsensus | About: Purchases support energy-efficiency carbon offset projects including efficient cookstoves in Kenya and geothermal and solar energy in Turkey. Costs: Costs are determined after initial contact |
How Can Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets Help Mitigate Climate Change
Climate change is a severe and long-term consequence of fossil fuel combustion. Energy-efficiency 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 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 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 Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets Specifically Help Mitigate Climate Change
Energy-efficiency offsets help eliminate CO2 emissions from direct fossil fuel combustion and from indirect electricity generation. By using energy-efficient appliances and methodologies, we reduce the amount of CO2 entering our atmosphere. And because higher levels of atmospheric carbon exacerbate global warming, less is better.
What Are The 7 Pros and 3 Cons of Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets
Energy-efficiency carbon offsets avoid carbon emissions immediately, improve air quality, reduce deforestation and strengthen our natural carbon sinks, promote energy decentralization, bolster energy security and help transition away from fossil fuels, are relatively cost-effective, and allow us to reduce carbon emissions in ways we wouldn’t be able to accomplish individually.
Energy-efficiency carbon offsets can lack additionality, standardization, and monitoring, and they do not reduce your own carbon emissions which can lead to greenwashing.
What Are the 7 Pros of Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets
Energy-efficiency carbon offsets have various pros that make them effective at avoiding carbon emissions.
7 Pros of Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets | Quick Facts |
#1: Energy-efficiency offsets avoid carbon emissions immediately | As soon as energy-efficient mechanisms are installed, switched on, or implemented, they begin reducing CO2 emissions because they use less energy to perform the same task as traditional methods. |
#2: Energy-efficiency offsets improve air quality | Energy-efficient cooking, heating, and lighting mechanisms can reduce the amount of total air pollution, improving overall air quality and human health as a result. For example, energy-efficient cookstoves can help reduce fuel use by 30-60%, leading to less harmful emissions. |
#3: Energy-efficiency offsets help reduce deforestation and strengthen our natural carbon sinks | Energy-efficient cookstoves and water filtration projects reduce the demand for wood, which in turn reduces the need to cut down trees. This is important in the fight against climate change because globally, forests act as a carbon sink capable of absorbing a net 7.6 billion tons (bt) of CO2 per year. |
#4: Energy-efficiency offsets bolster energy security and help transition away from fossil fuels | Overall, energy-efficient mechanisms use less energy than traditional mechanisms to perform the same task. This reduces overall energy demand, which in turn reduces reliance on imports of biomass fuels or fossil fuels (e.g., coal, oil, and natural gas). Being able to produce your own energy without relying on other entities increases energy security, which is reliable, affordable access to fuels and energy sources. |
#5: Energy-efficiency offsets promote energy decentralization | Energy-efficient practices promote energy decentralization, where power is generated at or near locations where it will be used. This decreases the need to transport energy and generates environmental benefits associated with a lower carbon footprint. |
#6: Energy-efficiency offsets are relatively cost-effective | Energy-efficiency offsets from leading providers (e.g., Carbonfund, Ecologi, myclimate) 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. |
#7: Energy-efficiency offsets allow us to reduce carbon emissions in ways we wouldn’t be able to accomplish individually | Energy-efficiency carbon offsets allow us to reduce emissions from activities where sustainable alternatives are not yet widely available. |
What Are the 3 Cons of Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets
Understanding the drawbacks of energy-efficiency carbon offsets is important in order to effectively mitigate climate change.
3 Cons of Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets | Quick Facts |
#1: Energy-efficiency offsets can lack additionality | Since 2020, global markets have contributed approximately $1 trillion towards energy efficiency-related practices involving buildings, transportation, infrastructure, and electric vehicles. The large demand for energy-efficient practices, in general, means that the infrastructure could have been built independently of energy-efficiency carbon offsets. |
#2: Energy-efficiency offsets can lack standardization and monitoring | There are different standards for different types of energy-efficiency practices. Appliances, lighting, buildings, cooking, and fuels are held to different standards, making it difficult to standardize energy efficiency as one singular entity. |
#3: Energy-efficiency 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. |
What Are Better Alternatives to Energy-Efficiency Carbon Offsets
If used correctly, energy-efficiency 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. Energy-efficiency offsets must be used in conjunction with direct carbon reduction measures so that we are directly reducing emissions as well as avoiding them.
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 energy-efficiency 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 energy-efficiency offsets.
Final Thoughts
Energy-efficiency carbon offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that upgrade conventional systems into ones that use less energy to perform the same task. CO2 avoidance occurs immediately, making energy efficiency an effective way to reduce CO2 emissions. But they can lack efficiency due to additionality, standardization, and monitoring concerns.
Although energy-efficiency 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. 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 energy-efficiency carbon offsets.
Stay impactful,

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