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

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...

Photo Essay || Iceland Series (part 1)

Hi Everyone! I recently went on a school trip to Iceland! It was such an incredible experience (and I'm going to sound cheesy now) but it was also incredible to do it with some of my closest friends! I saw so many incredible things and learnt so much, so I couldn't resist sharing a little Iceland mini series of posts, all about Iceland, both my experiences there and what I saw, but also the way it uses geothermal energy, and the animals, natural landforms and plants that are there. Today I'm sharing some photos of my trip. These are all photos I have taken, and are also the highlights so please bear that in mind as you browse these! I hope it is interesting and inspires you to book a trip to Iceland! The blue lagoon <33 landscapes.... Lost little farmhouses a...

Deforestation and why it’s a problem

Hi everyone, Welcome back to another post. Today we’ll be talking about deforestation and its impacts on our earth. Deforestation, the widespread clearance of natural forests, has been happening for thousands of years. One example is Western Europe, where, two millennia ago, 80% of the land was cloaked in dense forest cover. However, over time, a significant portion of this green expanse was sacrificed to create room for crops, livestock grazing, and as a source of fuel and building materials. Presently, a mere 34% of Western Europe retains its woodland. Today, the tropics deal with the brunt of deforestation. Activities such as mining, agriculture, road construction, and the establishment of vast cattle ranches drive the mass clearance of tropical rainforests. This results in the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, exacerbating the global climate crisis. The consequences come in two waves: first, the reduced number of...

18.10.20 Animal Of The Week: Sloth

Hello, Sorry this didn't come out on Sunday as planned but this week's animal of the week is the sloth because the twentieth of October is Sloth Day. Habitat The sloth resides in Central and South America. It lives in the rainforests there and occasionally drops into the water for a bathe as, believe it or not, they are actually excellent swimmers! Diet Sloths eat leaves, twigs and buds which they find in the rainforest. As they don't have incisors they smack their lips together to make leaves more digestible. Sloths can survive on relatively little food as it takes a while for them to digest it. Sleep and Speed When you think of a sloth, you probably think of this slow, sleepy creature. They actually sleep for about 15 hours a day! Sloths have an extremely low metabolic rate (what basic calories your body needs to survive), which means they move at a slow pace through the trees. On average, sloths travel 40 yards per day ...

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...

The limits of the Earth - the planetary boundary model

Hi everyone, So today we're talking about a model that was introduced in 2009 and has offered a new perspective to thinking about environmental issues. The planetary boundary model has 9 boundaries, each has a safe zone. Once the safe zone is exceeded, the stable conditions on our planet are considered at risk, and there can be severe and possibly irreversible changes. The nine boundaries are considered separate however, they greatly affect each other. Novel Entities describes the introduction and accumulation of man-made novel chemical compounds. These include pesticides, nuclear waste and microplastics. Stratospheric Ozone Depletion refers to the depletion of the ozone layer which was a major problem in the 90s. Atmospheric Aerosol Loading is air particle pollution. Ocean Acidification is self-explanatory. The boundary Biochemical Flows is composed of two separate boundaries; nitrogen and phosphorus. Both of the ele...

Ozone layer

Hi everyone, What even is ozone? And the ozone layer? Where does the hole in the ozone layer come from and what does it mean? Is it dangerous? What can be done? Often the ozone-talk can be complicated and confusing, keeping an overview is hard and understanding all the problems always difficult. Let us break it down a bit for you: What is the ozone layer? We'll start with the basics: The ozone layer is part of the stratosphere, which is the second layer of the Earth's atmosphere, between 10 and 50 km above the Earth's surface and made up of protective gases. One of these protective gases is ozone. There is not much ozone in the atmosphere, only 0.3 molecule of ozone per 1 million molecules of air. This is because ozone is chemically unstable and only forms when ultra violet radiation (UV light) hits oxygen and breaks the bonds between the atoms. It fact it is so unstable that even when it has formed, it breaks down again relatively quickly. This leads to ozone turning back ...

How much do you know about the greenhouse gas effect? - Quiz

Welcome back to Green World! Today we have a quiz that will test your knowledge about the greenhouse gas effect and its effect on the world. Enjoy! Questions True or False? Carbon dioxide is the only greenhouse gas. Burning fossil feuls mostly emits ... a) methane b) nitrogen c) carbon dioxide True or False? One ppm (part per million) is the same ratio as one drop of water in 13 gallons of liquid. Which one of these is not a greenhouse gas? a) carbon dioxide b) nitrous oxide c) oxygen True or False? Some greenhouse gases are only in the atmosphere for a few years. Which sector has the highest greenhouse gas emissions in the US? a) Agriculture and other land use b) Electricity c) Industry True or False? 94% of global methane emissions come from human activities. Which sector has experienced the highest increase in...

How much do you know about air pollution? | quiz

Hi Everyone! Welcome back to another quick quiz! Today we wanted to share some questions about air pollution. This is a very complex issue with many statistics, so these were all taken from reliable sources such as Friends Of The Earth ( friendsoftheearth.uk ) and the World Health Organisation ( who.int ). We hope this is educational and enjoyable! Let us know your score in the comments, or which answer surprised you the most! 1. Around how many early deaths are caused by air pollution each year in the UK? a) 3, 000 b) 30 000 c) 300 000 2. Which of these can microscopic pollutants affect? a) lungs and heart b) lungs and brain c) lungs, heart and brain 3. How long did it take for a road in London to breach the air pollution limits for the year in 2017? a) 5 days b) 5 weeks c) 5 months 4. True or False? You are exposed to 8 times more pollution as a cyclist compared to being inside a car. 5. How...

02.08.2020 Animal of the week: Owl

Hi everyone, This week's blog post is all about owls. Habitat There are many different types of owl: barn owls, long-eared owls, snowy owls and lots more. Different species live in different places. Here are a few examples. Snowy owls live in the Arctic . Great grey owls live in pine forests. Elf owls live in deserts. There are about 130 different species of owl. Owls can be found everywhere in the world apart from Antarctica . Owls live in trees, holes in the ground, barns and caves. Most owls do not migrate in winter. Diet Owls eat insects, spiders, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds and small mammals. What they eat the most depends on the type of owl and where it lives. Screech owls feed mostly on insects. Barn owls mainly eat mice, shrews and voles. Eagle owls eat hares and young foxes. Some owls can even fish like the Asian Fish Owl. Even though some species prefer a certain type of food, most owls will eat whatever they can find...

Green World

Search This Blog