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In August, the government approved the Woodland Carbon Code (WCC), a scheme which allows individuals and businesses to plant trees in the UK and, in doing so, claim a lower carbon footprint. More woodland is good for everyone, right? But is this kind of ‘carbon offsetting’ really all it’s cracked up to be? First of all… what is carbon offsetting? Carbon offsetting allows you to compensate for any CO2 emissions you generate by giving money to a project that produces an equivalent carbon saving. So, let’s say you take a plane journey from London to New York. You can ‘offset’ those jet fuel emissions by giving money to help build a wind farm or clean up a source of pollution or, indeed, plant some trees. Because these projects are reducing emissions, it’s almost like your carbon-heavy trip to the Big Apple never happened. Right…? Well, you can probably see the problem. Myth: offsetting can stop climate change If we’re really going to make an impact on climate change, we need to reduce emissions absolutely. That means changing our bad energy-wasting habits, rather than simply paying to pollute. Green Party leader, Caroline Lucas, says that offsetting amounts are “outsourcing our responsibilities to other countries – and weakening the drive to build green industries here”. Because a lot of offsetting projects take place in the developing world, we can often feel disconnected from them. In fact, this is part of the reason that public opinion is turning against offsetting. The 2012 Olympics was set to offset much of its carbon, but they recently decided against it. The Games’ Head of Sustainability, David Stubbs, said: “Officially, if you want to go down certified carbon-offsetting, all projects have to be overseas, so if we plant a lot of trees in Essex that just doesn't count.” Reality: offsetting is an expensive option Of course, money may also have tempted the Olympic committee to nix offsetting, since the UK’s austerity budget has led to funding cutbacks. In boom times, paying to offset may have been feasible – both for individuals like you and I, and for big companies – but as we all tighten our belts, traditional energy-saving at home is looking more attractive. Nonetheless, carbon offsetting remains on the table. In fact, Business Secretary, Vince Cable wants to use offsetting to help the UK meet its carbon targets in the 2020s, so it might be a reality for some time to come. What are your thoughts on carbon offsetting? Do you think it has a place in the UK’s carbon policy, or would you rather see the money go to programmes to encourage energy-saving at home, such as energy monitor appliances and home insulations?
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