Buying Carbon Offsets

Buying carbon offsets can be an extremely complicated thing to do, but with the following guidelines and resources it shouldn’t be a problem so you will be able to keep cutting your carbon footprint. For most people, visiting the source of the energy project is not realistic since wind farms and solar panels are often in remote areas. But it is still important to investigate the legitimacy of the project before you buy your carbon offsets to make sure it is really helping to fight global warming.

The Gold Standard
There are many different certifications that providers of carbon offsets can receive, each with varying levels of credibility. From our research, Cut Your Footprint supports the Gold Standard. The Gold Standard is an international rating used to verify carbon offsetting providers. This certification will ensure the highest standards for carbon offsetting projects, to make sure you are truly reducing your carbon footprint.

There is a group of over 50 international NGOs that are the official supporters of the Gold Standard, including Greenpeace and the WWF.

When investigating energy projects, the Gold Standard looks at a few key aspects of the project in terms of their carbon emissions.

Additionality in Carbon Offsets
The Gold Standard looks at something called ‘Additionality’. This means that the reduction in carbon emissions that is attributed to the carbon offsets you purchased would not have happened without your financial contribution. In other words, it is additional to what would have otherwise happened. If a project would have occurred regardless of you buying the carbon offset, then it should not be considered a true offset.

Location of Carbon Offsets
The Gold Standard also looks at the location of the carbon offset project in its fight against global warming. Projects in countries that are signed up to the Kyoto Protocol cannot obtain a Gold Standard certification. This is done on the basis that these countries would be funding these projects anyways to meet their Kyoto commitments, and thus they do not meet the additionality requirement. Thus, most Gold Standard certified projects occur in the developing world. This has the added benefit of helping these countries develop without the reliance on fossil fuels that Western countries have.

Carbon Offset Vendors
If you want to buy carbon offsets to reduce your carbon footprint, here is a list of Gold Standard certified vendors:

Carbon offsets are sold in tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalents (CO2E) and cost between $1 and $30.

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