How are Offsets Impactful?

Learn how carbon offsets make a positive impact on the climate crisis.

by Greenwashed

How are Offsets Impactful?
Photo by Adam Kool / Unsplash

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Overview

As human beings in the 21st century, we have access to more social, economic, and industrial outlets than at any other time. Due to this, emitting pollution is inevitable.

We all need to power our homes, commute to work, charge our phones, and feed ourselves. Even if you were to follow every energy-saving and emission-reducing step, you would still create a carbon footprint.

Eventually, all of those need to change to become fully sustainable. Carbon offsets are the best way to reduce emissions in the meantime, to buy the world more time to develop end-to-end sustainable systems.

Killing the Carbon Footprint

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Buying carbon offsets is a way to reduce your impact by compensating for emissions you cannot avoid.

For example, a company that manufactures cars cannot become fully "green" in its operations. Still, it can purchase carbon offsets to make up for what it emits in production. Similarly, an individual could buy offsets to make up for the pollution caused by their lifestyle choices.

The individuals and institutions who participate in buying offsets are the ones driving climate-positive impact. Like anyone else, they also fly in airplanes, drive cars, and use electricity generated by fossil fuels. However, this group understands this and takes accountability for the unavoidable damage they inflict on the planet.

Regenerative Finance

A carbon offset purchase benefits two parties.

The money used to purchase offsets is recycled back into projects that reduce or remove greenhouse gas emissions. The result is "regenerative finance" (ReFi) because it funds initiatives that have a climate-positive impact on the environment.

We've stated that the act of buying offsets is a way of saying that you don't want your emissions to damage the environment. However, it's also an investment in a healthier planet because you are financing the development of new technologies and processes that help society become more sustainable.

Not only does this reduce your carbon impact, it also creates jobs in the sustainability sector, drives innovation and financing toward a green economy, and reduces emissions globally.

To reduce the threat of climate change, we need to invest in projects that will generate value and continue to do so over time. That way, we can lay the foundation for a regenerative economy using the cycle of a positive feedback loop instead of relying on politicians or companies to do the right thing.

Conclusion: The Cultural Shift

Especially as an individual just looking to help out, it’s important to acknowledge that the climate crisis is not your fault.

In some ways, huge, polluting corporations have successfully shifted the blame onto everyday people by launching campaigns that imply that the way to fix the climate crisis is to take shorter showers, drive an electric car, or only use those god-awful paper straws. This could not be further from the truth.

The majority of pollution is from a small group of companies, and one person buying a few carbon offsets to offset their lifestyle isn’t going to stop them from doing that. One of the critical parts of offsetting is the cultural shift that comes out of people taking responsibility through action for our environment, a shift that we need if we’re going to have a shot at fighting the climate crisis.

Carbon offsetting is not a perfect solution, but it is a way for individuals and businesses to take responsibility for their emissions and make a real difference in the fight against climate.

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By funding these projects, we can create a regenerative economy that supports both people and the planet and start the movement that will enable us to achieve full sustainability.

To join the movement, subscribe below and offset your emissions here.