Technology-based carbon offsets eliminate carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) emissions from our atmosphere. This direct method of emission reduction could play a crucial role in mitigating long-term climate change. So, we had to ask: What are technology-based carbon offsets really, and could they help us mitigate climate change?

Technology-based carbon offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that uses specialized technology to extract CO₂ or CH₄ from the atmosphere. They include different solutions like direct carbon/air capture, carbon mineralization, energy-efficiency, waste management, and agricultural offsets.

Keep reading to find out all about what technology-based 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 Technology-Based 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. Technology-based carbon offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that extract carbon or methane (CH₄) from the atmosphere so that it can be repurposed or stored permanently in various reservoirs. 

What Are Technology-Based 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.

Technology-based carbon offsets are those that use specialized technology to extract carbon or methane (CH₄) from the atmosphere so that it can be repurposed or stored permanently in various reservoirs. 

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 Technology-Based Carbon Offsets Defined

Carbon removal is the process of eliminating carbon from the atmosphere. It is also referred to as negative emissions or carbon drawdown.

“Carbon Removal: the process of removing CO₂ from the atmosphere”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Carbon removal can be split into 2 categories, technological and natural carbon removal. Technology-based carbon offsets are those that use specialized technology to extract carbon or methane (CH₄) from the atmosphere so that it can then be repurposed or stored permanently in various reservoirs. 

Carbon offsets that are commonly classified as technology-based carbon offsets include:

• Direct Carbon/Air Capture
• Carbon Mineralization
• Energy Efficiency
• Waste Management
• Agriculture

How Do Technology-Based Carbon Offsets Work

Purchasing technology-based carbon offsets funds carbon emission reduction projects that remove atmospheric CO₂ and CH₄. It is a reactive, rather than a proactive, way of dealing with carbon emissions. 

How and When Do Technology-Based Carbon Offsets Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Technology-based carbon offsets remove CO₂ and CH₄ from our atmosphere via direct emissions capture, carbon mineralization, switching to energy-efficient mechanisms, mitigating waste, and various agricultural processes. It is one way to prevent the adverse effects of CO₂ emissions that occur after they enter our atmosphere.

How Do Technology-Based Carbon Offsets Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Technology-based carbon offset projects reduce emissions by eliminating CO₂ or CH₄ from the atmosphere via direct carbon/air capture, carbon mineralization, energy-efficiency, waste management, or agricultural practices.

Removing carbon from the atmosphere is one way to mitigate the adverse effects of CO₂ emissions that occur once they enter our atmosphere.

When Do Technology-Based Carbon Offsets Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

The timing of technology-based carbon offsets varies depending on the type of technology:

• CO₂ emissions reductions from DCC/DAC offsets occur as soon as the machines become operational. Once the carbon capture machines start sucking in atmospheric air, CO₂ removal begins. 

• Carbfix achieves 95% permanent carbon mineralization in under two years. Carbon mineralization mechanisms skip the slow weathering process by breaking down silicate rocks into tiny pieces, increasing surface area, and speeding up CO₂ absorption.

• Waste management carbon offsets either avoid emissions immediately by either capturing emissions from waste and turning it into renewable energy or reducing the total amount of waste. 

• Energy-efficient mechanisms begin reducing CO₂ emissions immediately upon installation or implementation because they use less energy to perform tasks.

• In terms of agriculture, methane (CH₄) capture immediately removes CO₂ and CH₄ emissions.

What Could Prevent Technology-Based Carbon Offsets From Being Realized

Technology-based carbon offsets can lack additionality, are not yet scaled to compensate for our global emissions, can be expensive, and can be difficult to monitor and verify. 

To be beneficial, energy efficiency and waste management offsets must be additional. This means the carbon emissions reductions would not have occurred without intervention. However, energy efficiency and waste management offsets are often not additional because many projects receiving revenue now would have been built regardless. The large demand for energy efficiency and waste management, in general, means that the infrastructure could have been built independently of waste management carbon offsets.

Currently, DCC/DAC, carbon mineralization, waste management, and agricultural offsets are not scaled enough to keep pace with our global carbon emissions. There are relatively few companies engaged in DCC/DAC and carbon mineralization practices. And 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 and more waste generated; therefore, GHG emissions from agriculture and waste will continue to increase. 

DCC/DAC offsets currency range anywhere from $250-$1200 per ton, the highest out of all carbon removal methods. Close behind are carbon mineralization offsets, which currently range anywhere from $82 – $1,200 per ton of CO₂. In comparison, energy efficiency, waste management, and agricultural offsets cost less than $40 per ton of CO₂, on average.

Lastly, the decentralized nature and many different types of energy-efficiency and agricultural carbon avoidance offsets can make standardization and monitoring difficult. 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. And in order to exact change on a global scale, we would have to incorporate agricultural offset practices on a massive scale and for hundreds of years into the future. This would be difficult to do both socially and economically.

What Is the Project Life-Cycle of Technology-Based Carbon Offsets

To fully understand technology-based 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 technology-based carbon offsets! 

Building of Technology-Based Carbon Offsets

The building of carbon removal offsets varies depending on the type of carbon removal:

• Direct Carbon/Air Capture (DCC/DAC): Siting of a DCC plant requires land, water, access to a renewable energy source, and a place to store the captured carbon.

• Carbon Mineralization: The building of carbon mineralization offsets includes building mineralization power plants, identifying lands for injection or above-ground exposure, and actually injecting CO₂ or spreading crushed rocks.

• Energy efficiency: Many components are required to construct energy-efficiency mechanisms, and building these components requires machinery that emits CO₂. 

• Waste management: Building the components in a biogas plant requires machinery that emits CO₂. Recycling, food rescue, and composting projects also require facilities, but they require less sophisticated machinery. 

• Agriculture: The building of agricultural carbon offsets includes building biomass power plants and CH₄ capture mechanisms.

Operating and Maintaining of Technology-Based Carbon Offsets

Each carbon removal type has various operation and maintenance needs:

• DCC/DAC: DCC works by sucking atmospheric air into specialized machines which remove the CO₂ so that it can be stored permanently (e.g., pumped deep underground and stored in geological formations).

• Carbon Mineralization: There are very few CO₂ emissions or waste products associated with operating and maintaining carbon mineralization projects, making the carbon footprint of this phase low.

• Energy efficiency: 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.

• Waste management: There are very few emissions or waste products associated with operating and maintaining waste management projects, making the carbon footprint of this phase low. 

• Agriculture: The operating and maintenance of agricultural carbon offsets includes the combustion of biomass, and capture of CH₄.

End-of-Life of Technology-Based Carbon Offsets

The end-of-life of carbon removal offsets also depends on the type of removal:

• DCC/DAC: DCC technology is relatively new, so data for this stage is not available yet. DCC power plants have an estimated average life expectancy of 20 years, if properly maintained. 

• Carbon Mineralization: The end-of-life of carbon mineralization offset projects is not yet well documented because mineralization itself is a relatively new technology. But we do know that rates of carbon re-emission are very low given that mineralization is a permanent process.

• Energy efficiency: 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.

• Waste management: Landfills themselves have an average life expectancy of anywhere from 30-50 years, biogas power plants have a historical life expectancy of 20-30 years, and recycling, food rescue, and composting projects have long life expectancies.

• Agriculture: The end-of-life of agricultural carbon offset projects would include the end-of-life of pyrolysis technology or biomass power plants, which hopefully would never occur.

Carbfix + Climeworks: An Example Project of Technology-Based Carbon Offsets

Since 2017, Carbfix has been working with Climeworks, a direct air capture company based in Zurich, Switzerland. After Climeworks’ specialized machines directly capture CO₂ from the air, Carbfix then turns the captured CO₂ into stone in less than two years. 

Carbfix first dissolves the captured CO₂ in water to create a slurry, before injecting it underground where it reacts with basalts and other reactive rock formations to form solid minerals (carbonates) via natural processes. These carbonates remain stable for thousands of years, making the process permanent. To date, Carbfix has injected over 90,000 tons of CO₂ at their Icelandic site.

How Effective and Efficient Are Technology-Based Carbon Offsets

In terms of effectiveness, technology-based carbon offsets can permanently and quickly reduce CO₂ emissions, bolster energy security, help transition away from fossil fuels, and reduce CH₄ emissions. However, they can also lack additionality and do not reduce your own carbon emissions, which can lead to greenwashing.

In terms of efficiency, technology-based carbon offsets can have low rates of carbon re-emission; however, they also come with varying levels of cost, can be difficult to monitor and verify, and are not yet scaled to compensate for our global emissions.

Technology-based carbon offsets are effective at mitigating climate change because:

• Direct carbon/air capture (DCC/DAC), carbon mineralization, waste management, and agricultural offsets permanently remove carbon from the atmosphere. Some also store it permanently in underground geological reservoirs. 
• DCC/DAC, carbon mineralization, energy efficiency, and some waste management and agricultural practices reduce emissions quicker than other nature-based solutions.
• Energy-efficiency offsets can help reduce reliance on biomass and fossil fuels, leading to increased energy security and energy independence. 
• Waste management and agricultural offsets can reduce methane (CH₄) emissions and combat land, air, and water pollution.

However, technology-based carbon offsets involving energy-efficiency and waste management can also lack additionality due to increasing demands for projects.

Technology-based carbon offsets are efficient at reducing CO₂ emissions because DCC/DAC offsets can have low rates of carbon re-emission when plants are operated by low-carbon electricity. And carbon mineralization offsets store carbon permanently, even if rocks are broken.

However, technology-based carbon offsets can also lack efficiency because:

• The decentralized nature and many different types of energy-efficiency, waste management, and agricultural carbon offsets can make standardization and monitoring difficult. 
• DCC/DAC, carbon mineralization, energy efficiency, waste management, and agricultural offsets are not scaled enough to keep pace with our global carbon emissions due to a lack of technology and few companies engaged in the practices. 

Also, costs can vary greatly depending on the type of offset. Technology-based carbon offsets such as DCC/DAC and carbon mineralization are some of the more expensive methods. But carbon offsets involving energy efficiency, waste management, and agriculture are relatively cost-effective.

Lastly, technology-based 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 Technology-Based 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 technology-based carbon offsets are effective and efficient at reducing carbon emissions, they are predicted to make up an increasingly larger share of this market.

What Are The 6 Pros and 5 Cons of Technology-Based Carbon Offsets

Technology-based carbon offsets can cost-effectively reduce CO₂ and CH₄ emissions quickly while storing carbon for long periods of time. They also promote energy decentralization, bolster energy security, help transition away from fossil fuels, and allow us to reduce carbon emissions in ways we wouldn’t be able to accomplish individually.

Technology-based carbon offsets can lack additionality, are not yet scaled to compensate for our global emissions, can be expensive, and can be difficult to monitor and verify. They also do not reduce your own carbon emissions, which could lead to greenwashing.

What Are the 6 Pros of Technology-Based Carbon Offsets

Technology-based carbon offsets have various pros that make them effective at reducing carbon emissions.

What Are the 5 Cons of Technology-Based Carbon Offsets

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

How Can Technology-Based Carbon Offsets Help Mitigate Climate Change

Climate change is a severe and long-term consequence of fossil fuel combustion. Technology-based 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. 

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. 

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

How Do Technology-Based Carbon Offsets Specifically Help Mitigate Climate Change

Direct carbon/air capture and carbon mineralization offsets specifically help mitigate climate change because these methods permanently lock away CO₂ for thousands of years with little to no carbon re-emission.

Waste management offsets involving landfill gas capture/combustion, landfill gas to renewable energy, biodigesters, biogas, and composting specifically help mitigate climate change because they capture emissions from waste, turn it into renewable energy, and reduce the total amount of waste. 

Energy-efficiency offsets involving clean cookstoves, water filtration programs, and co-generation facilities specifically help mitigate climate change by reducing 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. 

Agricultural offsets including CH₄ capture can specifically help mitigate climate change because they reduce CO₂ and CH₄ emissions in one of the biggest industries worldwide.

What Are Better Alternatives to Technology-Based Carbon Offsets

If used correctly, technology-based 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. Technology-based carbon offsets must be used in conjunction with direct carbon reduction measures to reduce GHG emissions long-term. 

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 technology-based 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 these offsets. 

Final Thoughts

Technology-based carbon offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that focuses on the elimination of atmospheric CO₂ and CH₄. Emissions reduction occurs as the emissions are eliminated via DCC/DAC, carbon mineralization, energy-efficiency, waste management, or agricultural practices. Each type of offset has its pros and cons involving additionality, rapidity and longevity of emission reduction, and costs.

Although technology-based carbon 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. Carbon removal 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 technology-based carbon offsets.

Stay impactful,

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