160 / 202
KICK THE HABIT
THE CYCLE – OFFSET
160
equal reduction of emissions somewhere, some day. Greenhouse gases cir-
culate freely in the one atmosphere we all share, so compensating our own
emissions can be achieved anywhere in the world. In order to make this
quite straightforward idea work, it is important that the emission reduction
would not have taken place without the extra incentive provided by emis-
sion reduction credits – in other words, we should not be able to claim the
credits for something that would have happened anyway.
Offsetting GHG emissions, the act of compensating for your emissions
elsewhere, builds on the principle of market economy: reducing GHG emis-
sions can be done in different ways, and according to local specific circum-
stances there are cheaper and more expensive ways. Somebody for whom
cutting their own emissions is expensive or not feasible might be tempted
to pay someone else to reduce theirs instead. Accessing cheaper reductions
allows you to set more aggressive targets overall, and benefits the countries
where reductions are being funded. Economists say that demand and sup-
ply will regulate the price: the more firms, countries and individuals seek to
reduce their emissions, but opt for helping others to reduce their emissions
by paying for it rather than taking direct measures, the higher the price for
a reduction will become, until the point where reducing the own emissions
will become cheaper than buying emission certificates for offsets.
Although voluntary action is already contributing to slow down the increase
of GHGs in the atmosphere, a widely accepted binding limit of maximum
allowed emissions, with appropriate consequences in case of non-compli-
ance, would make the concept far more effective. This is already the case
– in theory – for members of the Kyoto Protocol who committed to national
emission targets by 2012. These targets can be reached by a combination
of reducing national emissions and the use of the “Flexibility Mechanisms”
which also include offsetting GHG emissions under certain conditions off-
setting mechanisms approved by the Kyoto Protocol. But many countries
are not on track reaching national emission targets, partly due to the fact
that they have internally not enforced binding limits to their subjects.
Registries
Carbon offset registries keep track of offsets and are vital in minimizing the
risk of double-counting (that is, to have multiple stakeholders take credit