What is Carbon Offsetting?

Carbon Dioxide is the gas produced by burning fossil fuels and is thought to be the major cause of global warming. The best way to tackle this is to reduce the carbon dioxide we produce as far as possible. Inevitably we won't be able to eradicate carbon emissions totally so carbon offsetting is the next best thing. This is where we pay for projects to reduce carbon dioxide somewhere else to compensate for the carbon dioxide we have produced. In this way we become 'carbon neutral.' Examples of such projects are replacing light bulbs in a developing country with low energy ones (to reduce their carbon emissions) or to plant trees to absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Can you become Carbon Neutral?

First, reduce your carbon dioxide emissions as much as possible. This can be done by using energy efficient light bulbs, insulating your home, turning down the thermostat and switching off appliances as much as possible. If you can, install renewable energy sources such as solar power, wind power or biomass.

Then calculate your remaining carbon emissions and choose a project to sponsor. A step by step guide is provided by Climate Care. This enables you to calculate your emissions and offers you carbon offsets to buy. If you don't have time to go through all their steps, just choose a quick offset. As a guide, it costs £40 to offset the energy use of an average UK home for one year or £30 to offset 12,000 miles of driving in an average car. Offsetting a return flight from London to Dublin costs just £1 per person. You can read more about Climate Care on their website.