Carbon Offsets and Our Environmental Impact

In its most basic definition, Carbon Offsets consist of canceling out our own pollution by paying someone else not to pollute. The global carbon markets have become big business for some, while offsetting on a personal level has recently begun to pick up steam. Whether personal or corporate, the Overall Goal of all these efforts is to make polluting even more expensive; thereby increasing the motivation to curb emissions of harmful Greenhouse Gases.

Government-mandated reductions first gained prominence with the passing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and its eventual implementation on February 16, 2005. This legislation required certain parties to reduce their emissions by a predetermined amount in order to comply with the new standards. Purchasing Offsets became one way of meeting those standards.

While there is some debate about the effectiveness of 'offsetting' versus simply 'reducing' emissions, this new concept took off and has grown rapidly in the years since. The next step in the offsetting movement came when the more socially-conscious population began to look for ways to erase their own environmental impact. Personal offsets then began to gain popularity. There are significant differences when looking at Mandatory vs. Voluntary offsets.

The brief History of Carbon Offsets of this new industry has already undergone many changes as governments and individuals demand more oversight and transparency to ensure the effectiveness of offsetting projects. To more fully understand this process, take a look at some of the Technical Terms or read about Why Offsets Are Needed when some companies or individuals are unable to adequately reduce the Greenhouse Gas emissions.