How to quickly reach carbon neutrality on a small budget
Every time you engage in an activity that contributes to adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, you accumulate a debt toward the environment.
That includes using buildings, goods, services, and transportation and consuming food and electricity.
Basically, existing.
Of course, this debt is virtual; nobody will force you to pay it back. Considering the number of people on Earth freeloading for centuries, the planet is getting out of breath and could use your payback.
Here’s the good news: I bet it is much cheaper than you think to make things right, and calculating what you owe is very easy.
Carbon footprint = How much greenhouse gas you emit
Carbon offset = Way to reduce or capture greenhouse gas
Your carbon footprint - Your carbon offsets = your amount of CO2 in the atmosphere
Let’s dig into how to calculate your carbon footprint. Then, I’ll lay out a clear definition of a carbon offset, what qualifies as a good carbon offset, what type of projects you can invest in, and where to find reliable programs.
Calculating my carbon footprint
The carbon footprint is usually expressed in tons of CO2e/year. It is the number of tons of CO2e added to the atmosphere in one year related to everything you do.
The e in CO2e means equivalent. We need to reduce the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The one that is present in the most significant quantity is CO2, but there is also methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and fluorinated gases to take care of.
The effect on global warming of each of these gases is considered and expressed based on the warming potential of CO2e.
You can estimate your carbon footprint with many different online calculators. Here’s a couple:
Those calculators are very interesting because they allow you to see how big of an impact every activity you engage in has on your carbon footprint. It’s an excellent way to learn where to focus if you are eager to reduce your emissions.
Here are a couple of activities that are highly carbon intensive:
Using planes to get around
Your energy consumption at home
The amount of meat and dairy products you consume
The overall quantity of products you go through
You can test the calculators, compare, and determine the best approximation of your carbon footprint in tons of CO2e produced.
What is a carbon offset?
The basic concept is pretty simple. Your money will fund a project when you buy a carbon offset for one ton of CO2e. This organization will make sure your offset will equal one less ton of CO2e in the atmosphere.
For that, they have two options. They can either sequester one ton of CO2e from the atmosphere or prevent one ton of CO2e from ever being produced.
Not only are you reducing your carbon footprint, but you also contribute to developing projects tackling global warming and biodiversity loss by growing their market.
You are proving to them that people are willing to pay for their service, so they can invest in scaling up their enterprise and optimizing their processes.
Those projects also provide many social benefits.
Depending on the enterprise you choose to contribute to, you have to opportunity to help people improve their health through access to clean water and cleaner air. Living standards can also be enhanced through employment opportunities and the elimination of time-consuming hard labor.
Where to find carbon offset programs you can trust
What would be the point of purchasing carbon offsets if you can’t trust that the promised offsets were delivered?
You must be careful; some organizations have better systems to verify the actual impact of the projects that appear on their platforms. Emissions reduction certificates are produced, which you can access once you buy offsets.
To be legit, offset projects must possess those traits:
Additionality
This one is twofold.
First, it must create a new reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that would not have existed without the project’s existence. E.g., a project to protect a forest area is eligible only if the area would have been cut down otherwise.
Second, the project must depend on additional emission reduction certificates funding. Economically viable projects are not eligible. It’s pretty cool to know that your investment makes a difference.
Quantification
The amount of carbon offset resulting from the project must be measured precisely. That is how you $x = 1 ton CO2e.
Unique ownership
A carbon offset can’t be sold twice, or it ruins the purpose.
Leakage
The initiative can’t have negative consequences resulting in more greenhouse gases elsewhere.
Permanence
Emissions can’t simply be delayed; they must permanently save those tons of greenhouse gases from warming the globe.
Here are three internationally recognized standards that evaluate the validity of projects and let you buy offsets from their platform:
The cost to reduce or capture one ton of CO2e varies depending on the project. Most prices range from less than $5 to $50.
Different types of carbon offset projects
Those projects use nature, technology, or both to sequester or reduce gas emissions.
You can choose from a wide variety, both from a price and type of project perspective.
On the platforms listed previously, you can sort the different projects by type of initiative and read the overall descriptions: What is done, how does it benefit the environment, and who reaps the positive impacts, directly and indirectly.
Some concentrate on producing renewable energy, others on energy efficiency, reforestation, nature preservation, using less harmful fuel sources to power activities, or capturing greenhouse gases directly from the atmosphere.
That means you can choose to help a cause that is close to your heart, anywhere on the planet.
The best part is that you can do it starting from a tiny budget. I’ve seen prices under $3 to offset one ton of CO2e.
… $3.
Conclusion
As you’ve understood by now, the cost you’ll have to pay to become carbon neutral depends on two factors:
How high is your environmental footprint?
What carbon offset projects do you invest in?
Of course, you must support reliable projects to ensure your money translates to the claimed amount of CO2e reduction floating in the atmosphere.
So, let’s say your footprint equals that of the average American, rounded up to 15 tons of CO2e/year (1). At the low-range price of $3 per ton, it’ll cost you the outrageous sum of $45/year to become carbon neutral.
You know what that means, right? Skip the restaurant once a year and make up for your contribution to global warming.
Let’s acknowledge that this price is on the lower end of the possible contribution. With the panoply of inspiring projects to choose from, I encourage you to shop around and find one or several projects that you are passionate about.