CARBON OFFSETTING
The issue of climate change and the language used is frequently a minefield which then can lead to confusion on what causes carbon emissions and how emissions can be reduced. Clarity and
understanding on the topic will help facilities management
companies and staff when they are undergoing a
significant challenge: how to grow profitably and reduce carbon emissions.
The CarbonNeutral Company has put together some frequently asked questions with clear answers to help.
UNDERSTANDING C
Rebecca Fay, Marketing Director, The CarbonNeutral Company.
1. WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE? Climate change is the long-term change in average weather conditions, including temperature, precipitation and wind.
According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is comprised of the world’s leading scientific experts in the field of climate change, the global climate is undergoing dramatic changes as the direct result of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activity. Climate change is already apparent as evidenced by higher temperatures, rising sea levels, increased ocean acidity and ice melt. Global surface temperatures, alone, have increased by roughly 0.74° C (1.33° F) between the start and the end of the 20th century. According to the IPCC these trends are set to continue to accelerate into the 21st century and will be accompanied by new changes such as increases in extreme weather events like hurricanes.
2. CAN CLIMATE CHANGE BE REVERSED?
According to recent calculations by the IPCC, the level of action required is considerable. It is estimated that GHG emissions would need to be cut by at least 80% by 2050 in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Some countries, like the UK, have committed to
reducing their greenhouse gas emissions in line with this target however most countries still have not. The more action is delayed the more the levels of greenhouse gases will rise before they are brought under control, committing the Earth to greater levels of warming and making the required reductions even greater.
3. WHAT IS AN OFFSET INCLUSIVE CARBON MANAGEMENT STRATEGY? Companies executing offset inclusive carbon management strategies: (1) Measure baseline emissions. (2) Set scientifically significant reduction targets.
(3) Meet the targets most cost effectively.
(4) Communicate their activity to stakeholders.
In order for a carbon management strategy to be credible it must deliver emission reductions which meet a scientifically significant target. An offset inclusive carbon management strategy combines internal reductions with carbon offsets to enable companies to meet reduction targets immediately and cost- effectively. Practically speaking, all internal carbon reduction projects should be evaluated in terms of the cost of reducing a tonne of carbon, and then implementing those reduction measures with a lower cost of carbon than the cost of an offset. The remainder of the target is met through the next most cost effective source of emission reductions: carbon offsets.
4. WHAT IS CARBON OFFSETTING? For every one tonne of CO2
that an
organisation produces, it pays to enable an equivalent amount of CO2
saved is measured and sold as a to be saved
by an offset project somewhere else in the world. At these projects the amount of CO2
‘carbon credit’; and without carbon financing the projects would not be viable. Carbon offsetting is often the fastest way to achieve the deepest reductions within an organisation or activity, and almost always, it is the only way to achieve deep reductions in a cost effective manner. At the same time, it often delivers added benefits at the project site such as employment.
52| SUSTAINABLE FM | JUNE 2010
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