Episode Summary: This episode is an excerpt from a past episode on Carbon Offsetting
In this episode, Carbon offsetting is discussed and how it could be a little misleading to pay for making a carbon footprint. How else could we approach this without paying for a future solution now? What are the benefits and disadvantages of carbon offsetting?
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Featuring Carbon Almanac Contributors Jenn Swanson and Inma Lopez
From Langley in British Columbia, Canada, Jenn is a Minister, Coach, Writer and Community Connector, helping people help themselves.
Imma is from Cádiz in the South of Spain, living in Aberdeen, Scotland. Imma is a sommelier, a poet, a podcaster, a mother, a slow food advocate, and an animist activist.
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The CarbonSessions Podcast is produced and edited by Leekei Tang, Steve Heatherington and Rob Slater.
Transcripts
Speaker:
So today we wanted to have a conversation about carbon offsettings.
Speaker:
Carbon offsetting.
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Mm.
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So what?
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What is that?
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What is carbon?
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That is a word that is out there everywhere.
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I hear it all the time.
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Hmm.
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And my understanding is that it's, the idea is that you are offsetting
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the cost of carbon, financially.
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You're trying to trade, it's like a trade.
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I think of all the stuff that we're doing that causes.
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Carbon emissions and we are going to pay money that will then go into programming
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that will help to remove that carbon.
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Yeah.
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Is that, is that your understanding?
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That's my understanding and that's why I think it is kind of misleading because
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some people link carbon offsetting with carbon emissions completely.
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Like, okay, if we work on car carbon, offsettings means that we are reducing
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carbon emissions, and that is not true.
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So if I get on an airplane, which causes a lot of carbon emission,
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probably not as much as we think.
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I think being in our cars and using other tools and doing other
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things, or even more damaging.
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But if I get on an airplane, I can buy.
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Carbon offsets.
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What do you think that's doing?
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Nothing.
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Why?
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I don't think the carbon emissions that any transport and, and transport
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right now is at the top of the list in, in carbon emissions.
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I think what is misleading is that the carbon emissions that we are doing
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right now is adding, and what the carbon offerings that we are paying
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are the ones that are already there.
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So it's not in the, in accounting, it's not in the same balance sheet.
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So, so what do you mean they're already there?
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Tell me more about that.
Speaker:
Well, uh, as far as I know, the carbon, the, the ones you pay
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in your, in your tree, uh, yeah.
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Uh, is not emitted yet.
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Right.
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So you are paying for, to reduce carbon emissions.
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In the future.
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Mm-hmm.
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And we don't know the, the carbon emissions add up all the time.
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So for us to buy carbon offsettings in the future, we really don't know
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because, uh, what is happening right now is that because we are floating the
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glass, Let's say, let's compare that we are floating the glass right now.
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We don't know how we are gonna reduce carbon emissions in the future.
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And hoping maybe for a technology that can do that in the future is not a great idea.
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So I don't think it's not true that carbon off settings are interesting to look at.
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I think it's misleading.
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I also wonder if it doesn't incentivize people to travel more or to use their
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vehicles more because you, you're assuaging the guilt a little bit.
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Right?
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Right.
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It's, it's sort of that feeling of, oh, well, it's all okay.
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Like, you know, I really shouldn't be traveling.
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I really shouldn't be taking my gas vehicle.
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I really shouldn't be, you know, doing this, but that's okay.
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I've paid an eco fee, or I've paid a carbon offset fee and it's all good.
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So now I should.
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Now I can feel, uh, good about doing X.
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Yes, I agree.
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Totally agree with you on that.
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What would be the solution then?
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What should we do instead, do you think?
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I think, I think the whole traveling and transportation, there is a shift to
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make that implies changes in lifestyles.
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And
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