Saturday, January 16, 2010

Basics Of Carbon Offsetting

By Richard Russel

Carbon offsetting deals with reducing the effects of greenhouse gas emissions by persons or corporations caused either unknowingly or with awareness. The idea is that when you emit such pollutants, you stop the same from taking place in any other site on the planet, in order to neutralize your emissions. Thus a fine balance can be maintained in levels of emission all over the world, which will help in preventing greater harm to the environment.

One method to work on carbon offsetting is to be actively involved in community drives to improve the environment, engaging in tree plantation in your locality, or performing any activity that will effectively reduce release of CO2 and other harmful gases into the atmosphere. Personal action is not always practical, and thus the carbon offset system was devised, in which people who consider themselves guilty of polluting the environment can contribute money to an organization to compensate the harm done to the environment. Your funds are then donated by the organization to companies running environmental projects.

Administrations and industries are the primary players in the carbon offsetting system and developed countries generally pay third world countries for lowering overall emissions, in what is called the Clean Development Mechanism, under the Kyoto Protocol.

Critics believe that carbon offset fails to address the issue of the ecological harm that an an organization is responsible for. Carbon offsetting and carbon trading entail financial contribution to counterbalance the damage instead of stopping it from occurring.

However, the proponents of theses systems believe that monetary rewards in carbon trading are sufficient to motivate companies to adopt greener methods of doing business. Similarly, carbon offset aids the common man to build his identity as an eco friendly person and raise awareness about the need of protecting the environment. Carbon offset has been adopted by many celebrities and this has enhanced its popularity. The last few years have seen a rise in number of individuals actively practising this system, as they recognize its capability of making the world cleaner and greener.

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