How do carbon offsets work?

Carbon offsetting means that you neutralize your own carbon footprint by reducing carbon emissions elsewhere on the planet. It is a smart way to take responsibility for the carbon dioxide emissions that you cause and have not been able to bring down through changes to your own lifestyle.

The money you pay goes to climate-positive projects that would not have happened without funding from the carbon offsetting. The climate projects are mostly in developing countries, where the focus is on replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy, such as solar or wind power, or on capturing carbon dioxide by preserving or planting forests.

Why are the offsets in developing countries?

Today, the largest amount of carbon dioxide emissions globally comes from the combustion of fossil fuels for electricity and heating. While developed countries have sufficient income (high GDP/capita) to make the shift to renewable energy, most developing countries lack the funding to do so.

Carbon offsetting in developing countries functions as an effective development aid as it not only reduces carbon emissions, but also contributes to improved health and the reduction of poverty for the planet’s most vulnerable inhabitants.