You will hear the word ‘offsets’ or ‘carbon offsets’ more and more as you move around in the world of climate change and climate protection.  An offset refers to a financial instrument, a certificate you buy, which puts the money you have spent to a valid, real use in the fight to constrain our societal carbon emissions and the climate crisis they have created.

These offsets can belong to several categories pertaining mostly to the kind of projects or activities on which the money spent on the offset support.

The following are two hypertext linked passages from Wikipedia’s entry on carbon projects which you may find useful.  Consult the original for a more comprehensive discussion.

Most important to developing a carbon project is establishing and documenting the additionality of the project - that the carbon project would not have otherwise occurred. Also important the documentation of the measurement and the verification methodology applied, as outlined in the project development document. Developing a carbon project is appropriate for renewable energy projects such as wind, solar, low impact-small hydro, biomass, and biogas. Projects have also been developed for a wide variety of other emissions reductions such as reforestation, fuel switching, carbon capture and storage, and energy efficiency.

See also Carbon Credits & Offsetting and Carbon Offsetters for referrals to agencies we know and trust.