Carbon credits

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Green World! Today we're talking about an industry that has expanded massively in the past few years. Carbon credits are one of the measures that companies are taking to reduce CO2 emissions.

But how does it actually work? The companies that sell carbon credits fund projects to protect an area of forest or rainforest from deforestation. They then calculate how much carbon dioxide emissions they have saves by protecting this area. This means they can now sell 'negative carbon emissions' to companies. In this way, the companies are funding the protection of said area and are causing negative emissions while doing so meaning that the company can still emit greenhouse gases but can claim to be net zero. One carbon credit is basically the permission to emit one ton of CO2. This is good for the company as well as they are able to advertise as sustainable at a relatively low cost to actually reducing their emissions. And it means that the rainforests like the Amazon are protected. This industry expanded greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic: in 2021 150 million credits were sold at a total cost of 1.3 billion dollars.

This all sounds good. Maybe too good? In reality, there are problems. Probably the biggest problem is calculation errors. If a project overestimates how much carbon it is saving, intentionally or not, then they can sell more credits. Not only is this a money-making machine, it also means that companies are falsely under the impression that they are allowed to emit more. Overestimations of up to 400% so 4x the actual amount of carbon have been found in studies and investigations. These credits are called "phantom credits" because they don't actually exist. Another problem, that is very similar, is companies 'protecting' an area that isn't actually at risk in the first place. The idea of credits is to save rainforests from deforestation, but if these rainforests aren't actually at risk then it's kind of useless. Sellers can make millions because they don't even have to do any protecting. Tying into this is the fact that there is no reliable way of knowing if a credit is legit or just a scam. A study looking into a selection of projects determined that over 60 million credits didn't actually have any positive effect on the environment. One of the world's biggest sellers had 94% of their credits determined useless. These sellers are obviously denying all claims by scientists and journalists. There have even been allegations of the mistreatment of native people by the projects active in their areas. One final fundamental problem is that companies now have an excuse not to reduce emissions by buying credits.

We hope you found this post interesting. Vote here to decide on next year's monthly post. See you next week!

Your Green World Blog Team💚

Sources:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/08/230824150717.htm
https://carboncredits.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-understanding-carbon-credits/
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/18/revealed-forest-carbon-offsets-biggest-provider-worthless-verra-aoe

Images:
Title image: This image is owned by a blog editor.
"CO2 emissions", owned by Ian Britton (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
“Rainforest”, owned by Jo (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Comments

Green Pets: Introducing my new house plant!

Hi Everyone! As you can tell by the title of this post, I got a new houseplant! It was a Christmas present but I chose it in a really sweet plant shop near me. It is called a Mind Your Own Business, in more technical terms a Soleirolia. It's latin name is Soleirolia soleirolii. Introducing Mr Darcy! I named it Mr Darcy because I love Pride and Prejudice and I thought it appropriate! It needs to have constantly moist soil and has to be watered by being put in a bowl of water, rather than with a jug. This is because it will get a hole where the water has gone down as it is quite delicate and the leaves are very fine. It's important to look up how much water your house plant needs and get tips from experts to help your plant to thrive. I talked to the lady in the shop when we were buying it and she told me about how to look after it. It is joining my two other house pla...

25.10.2020 Animal of the week: Snow leopard

Hello everyone, This week's post is about snow leopards. Snow leopards are incredible big cats that roam the mountain ranges of Asia. Snow leopards are very powerful and can climb up and down steep slopes easily, as well as jump up six times their body length. The snow leopard's tail provides balance, agility and warmth. The snow leopard is elusive and solitary and therefore very difficult to spot. They are very important though, because they are at the top of the food chain in this area. Habitat Snow leopards live in northern and central Asia's mountain ranges. These are some of the harshest conditions on earth. However, they white-grey coat with large black spots allows them to blend in with the rocky mountain terrain. They are found in twelve countries including China, Russia and Mongolia. Diet Snow leopards can kill prey up to three times their body weight. This is an incredible feat to pull off as they manage this on their ow...

How much do you know about big cats? - Quiz

Hello, Lions, tigers, jaguars , cheetahs , leopards - all of these amazing big cats derserve their own quiz, but seeing as we only do one quiz a month, we've had to put them all into one! Questions How old do tigers get in the wild? a) 20 years old b) 30 years old c) 40 years old True or False? The only big cats found in the Americas (in the wild) are jaguars. What is a cheetah's top speed? a) 90km/h b) 100km/h c) 110km/h True of False? A lions roar can be heard from 8km away. Leopards have been around for a long time. How old are the oldest leopard fossils ever found? a) 600 000 years old b) 700 000 years old c) 800 000 years old True or False? In Africa, cheetahs are the most endangered big cats. How heavy can jaguars get? a) 80 kg b) 110kg c) 140kg True or False? All females lions in a pride are related. ...

29.11.2020 Animal Of The Week: Jaguar

Hello, Today (29th November) is world Jaguar day so this week our animal is the Jaguar. The Jaguar is an animal I know pretty much nothing about so I am going to learn a lot too! Jaguars (panthera onca) live for 12 - 15 years. Their heads and bodies are 150-180cm long and their tails are 70-90cm long! They weigh 45 - 110 kg. Habitat Jaguars live primarily in the Amazon Basin, though they can be found in smaller numbers in Central America. They once lived everywhere from central Argentina up to the southwestern United States but since the 1880s they have lost over half of their territory. They are mainly found in tropical rainforests but can live in savannas and grasslands. Diet They eat fish and turtles as they are actually quite competent swimmers as well as deer, iguanas, birds and monkeys; they will eat almost anything! Are they endangered? Jaguars are classed as near endangered and face several threats. South and Central Americ...

Eco system Galápagos: Part 1 Geography

Hello and welcome to the first post about the Galapagos Islands. Currents and Winds The volcanic islands of Galápagos started to form 4 million years ago. Where they lie, is unique. They are situated directly on the equator, on the Nazca tectonic plate. The Galapagos Islands are on the crossroads of three currents. The cold South Equatorial Current flows westward towards Galapagos. The warm Panama Current runs in from the north. And finally, the deep sea Cromwell Current runs from the west. The Galapagos Islands are also where the Northeast Trade Wind meets the Southeast Trade Wind. Galapagos Hotspot 21 Volcanoes make up the Galápagos Islands with 13 still active. The reason for this volcanic activity is a giant hotspot under the island. A hotspot is a gigantic column of super heated molten lava, rising up towards the surface. It is immense; at least sixty miles (97 kilometers) across and 1800 miles (2897 kilometers) deep. It connects the islands to ...

Animals 11-15 in our '50 incredible animals' series

Hello, We have another five amazing animals for you today. Enjoy! 11. Dhole This is a dog species which looks rather like a red fox . They are difficult to put into any of the dog subfamilies. They aren't foxes, nor wolves, nor domestic dogs. Dholes are fast runners and live in packs of 5-12 individuals. Although sometimes, different packs will join forces to become a pack of 30 or more individuals! However, these super packs are broken up after a successful hunt. The different packs rarely attack each other as neighbouring packs are often closely related. Dhole packs live in burrows with multiple entrances. They can be found in eastern and southern Asia. They eat wild berries, insects and lizards and as a pack hunt deer, rodents and other wild mammals. Interestingly, unlike other dogs, they rarely kill by biting at the throat. They are also good swimmers! 12. Irrawaddy dolphin The Irrawaddy dolphin can be found in coastal areas of south a...

The life of ... an emperor penguin

Hello, Today, we're looking at the fascinating lives of emperor penguins. These incredible creatures have adapted to survive in the extreme conditions of Antarctica, and in this post, we'll explore their incredible lives. In late May to early June just before the Antarctic winter sets in, female emperor penguins lay a single egg. They then leave the colony and go on a two month hunt. The male rests the egg on his feet and covers it with warm, feathered skin called the brood pouch. He will eat nothing for these two months. The chick hatches in August and the female returned to take over. She has spent two months feeding and now regurgitates some food for the newly-hatched chick. The male leaves to feed himself as he has been living off his fat reserves for the past two months. The female keeps the chick in her brood pouch until the sea ice close to the breeding site breaks up as the temperatures warm. The chick is now strong eno...

Coral reefs

Hello! We would love to introduce you to the topic of coral reefs and especially coral reef bleaching, as it is a greatly ignored but certainly significant topic. Have fun! 5 coral reef facts 1. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet and is 2300 km long! 2. Less than 0.1% of the world's ocean surface is covered in coral reefs. 3. At least 25% of all marine animals live there. 4. Coral reefs are often known as the rainforests of the ocean. 5. In 1 square kilometre of coral reef, up to 35 tons of fish can be 'produced'. The 5 biggest coral reefs in the world 1. Great Barrier Reef (near Australia) 2. Red Sea Coral Reef (near Egypt, Israel and Djibouti) 3. New Caledonia Reef (Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia) 4. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (near Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras) 5. Florida Reef (Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico near Florida) What is coral? Coral is actually made up of small anim...

How much do you know about trees? - Quiz

Hello, This month's quiz is all about trees. Questions: What is the name of the network that trees use to communicate? a) the mycorrhizal network b) the mythcorhinia network c) the symbocommunial network How much of the amazon rainforest has been lost due to deforestation in the last 50 years? a) 12% b) 17% c) 23% True or False? Over 75% of land-based species are found in forests? How much carbon do tropical forest contain? a) 230 gigatons b) 280 gigatons c) 330 gigatons In California, there is a rather strange tree that has survived 13 000 years by cloning itself. What species? a) Pin oak ;b) English oak c) Palmer's oak True or False? The oldest surviving tree species, Gingko trees, have been around since just after the meteor that killed off the dinosaurs struck. Where do acacia trees grow? a) cold and ha...

2021: How Our Year Went, Favourite Posts and Some Goals For 2022 | a wrap up

Hi Everyone! Today we wanted to share some thoughts on how our blogging year went in 2021 and some goals for 2022. We are now at the end of January, which is very scary, but we hope you will still enjoy this slightly belated wrap-up. In 2021, we published 36 posts in total. This is pretty good, we posted on average roughly every 10 days. However, there was a lot of time when we didn't post at all and our posts became increasingly just the monthly fact file. Many of you enjoyed the fact file, and for the most part, we enjoyed writing it but it became a bit of a chore by the end, hence the change we have made over to top tips. We think it would be nice to change our monthly post every year, and we will of course involve you in that just as we did this year. Our best posting months were by far August and September, which is understandable because we were on holiday for August and could schedule a lot of posts for September! Something we want to wor...

Green World

Search This Blog