Carbon Offset
Carbon offset is the process of compensating for or offsetting the carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions.
There are two types of markets for carbon offset: compliance and voluntary. The EU Emissions Trading System is the well-known compliance market in the world. In compliance markets, companies, governments or other organizations purchase carbon offsets in order to stay within the compulsory and legally binding limits on their CO2 emissions. Failure to comply with these mandatory limits in compliance markets results in fines or legal penalties.
In voluntary carbon markets, carbon emitters are allowed carbon emitters to offset their emissions by purchasing carbon credits emitted by projects targeted at removing or reducing greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.
Carbon offset projects consist of 3 stages.
- Calculation
A carbon footprint calculation at corporate or product level is conducted in accordance with the relevant standards.
- Reduction
Balancing the carbon footprint immediately might not be the appropriate action. First of all, mitigation options should be evaluated and the carbon footprint should be reduced as much as possible; the part that cannot be reduced is then balanced.
- Balancing
After reduction, the remaining carbon emissions are compensated for.
