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Carbon off-setting and the rainforests

You may well have heard about the concept of "off-setting" your carbon dioxide emissions. This particularly applies to flying, as it does burn a huge amount of fuel to keep a plane in the sky. For example, in a return trip from London to Tenerife (3,573 miles), I caused 0.63 tonnes of carbon dioxide to be emitted. That is nearly 30% of my total emissions for the year (see the Get Informed page)!

The idea that you can off-set your emissions therefore sounds really good. I looked on one website and the cost of off-setting that return trip was £4.72. That is pittance, and it certainly does not encourage me to not fly. Reading various articles I am inclined to agree that the whole off-setting business is not a great thing. It is there to alleviate the guilt of doing something that you know you shouldn't, and that won't encourage you to change your lifestyle.

The rainforests

There is a form of carbon off-setting, however, that does make more sense. We are burning the candle at both ends when it comes to carbon emissions. On top of all our burning of fossil fuels (from industry, transport, houses, etc), we are cutting down/burning our rainforests. This is insane. According to the latest IPCC estimates, emissions from deforestation in the 1990s (at 5.8 GtCO2/yr) would account for over 20% of our carbon dioxide emissions. And yet the forests have an important role in taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. This is a serious double whammy!

Not enough is being done to protect the rainforests. They are mostly found in developing countries, where governments, farmers and logging companies can see money to be made by taking them out. Its only natural: we did it in the UK, which was covered in forest, probably 5,000 years ago. We really need to do something. Protecting the rainforests is a globally important part of preventing climate change.

One charity I have found is Rainforest Concern. They have recently set up a carbon off-setting area, which they are calling Forest Credits. At the end of the day it is a way of getting you to donate but that is no bad thing. You can't completely stop your carbon emissions so why not "off-set" some of them by protecting the planet's lungs? This shouldn't distract you from your plan to reduce your carbon footprint though!