We all know that the clock is ticking on our global effort to reach net zero carbon emissions. We also know that this won’t be possible unless businesses do their part.
There is, however, a limit to the amount of emission reductions even the most environmentally friendly business can do. When you’ve done all that is feasible with your direct and indirect emissions, you will still end up having a carbon footprint, unless you choose to shut down your business entirely.
The question is then how to walk the last mile, i.e. what to do about the remaining carbon footprint you’re left with. This is where different carbon compensation mechanisms come into play. Essentially we’re talking about you paying someone else for the reduction or removal of emissions elsewhere in order to compensate for your carbon footprint.
It’s important to distinguish between carbon offsetting and carbon removal, because they offer two very different outcomes when it comes to reaching net zero. With conventional carbon offsets, when one ton of CO2e is emitted, one ton is avoided elsewhere. With carbon removal, when one ton of CO2e is emitted, one ton is removed completely from the atmosphere.
Both the Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned Offsetting and the Science Based Targets initiative's Net-Zero Standard argue for the importance of moving beyond offsets based on reduced or avoided emissions to offsets based on carbon that has been sequestered from the atmosphere.
Considering the climate crisis we’re facing, it’s clearly not enough that businesses just pay others to avoid emissions in their place, because emissions still enter the atmosphere and remain there. If we want to reach net zero fast enough, carbon removal is needed.
As Swiss Re put it, it’s time to change the old mantra “do your best, offset the rest” to “do your best, remove the rest”.