Difference Between Carbon Reduction and Carbon Offset

What is Carbon Reduction?

The term "carbon reduction" is used to describe the method of lowering the amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon-based greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere by human activity or a specific business. Volcanic activity and biological activities, such as the breathing of oxygen-loving creatures that release carbon dioxide with their breath, are the primary contributors to the gas's abundance in the air around us.

The combustion of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas also contributes to atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Since the Industrial Revolution began in the late 18th century, most of the additional carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has come from the combustion of fossil fuels.

A Little Background First

Carbon dioxide plays a crucial role in global warming because it acts as a greenhouse gas by absorbing and holding onto radiant energy from the sun. Infrared radiation, or heat, is radiated back into space after being absorbed by Earth's surface from the sun's rays. About half of the infrared radiation emitted from Earth's surface will be reflected back to the planet by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Thus, heat that otherwise would have been lost to space is retained in the atmosphere, leading to an increase in atmospheric temperature. Methane, like many other carbon-based compounds, is a potent greenhouse gas.

Fossil fuels are the decayed remnants of species that lived millions of years ago and are used to generate electricity, heat homes, and power factories. These animals' carbon has been taken from the atmosphere by being trapped in sedimentary rock from long ago. Carbon from this ancient store is released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide when fossil fuels are burnt. If sufficient amounts of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect is exacerbated, and the average temperature of the Earth rises.

Since the Industrial Revolution, human activity has elevated carbon dioxide levels to the point that it is altering the global climatic system upon which modern civilization relies. Future human well-being and future biosphere well-being are both threatened by a global climate to which human civilization is not equipped. This has spurred governmental and non-governmental efforts to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, with the goal of slowing climate change enough that it doesn't threaten human civilization or natural ecosystems.

Approaches to Carbon Reduction

Presently, carbon-intensive activities, such as the combustion of coal and oil, form the backbone of much of the world's energy and industrial infrastructure. Consequently, shifting to low-carbon or carbon-neutral energy production methods like wind and solar power may be costly and requires incentives. Governments have mostly used a carbon tax or a carbon cap and trade system to incentivize carbon reduction.

Carbon Tax − Carbon emissions have a cost since climate change will have an effect on the economy in the future. An emission of one metric tonne of carbon dioxide, for instance, is estimated to cost about $40. However, this expense is not borne directly by the individual. However, if carbon emissions are not significantly decreased, the cost will be borne in the form of future infrastructure investment to address climate change adaptation. Having businesses and people pay a tax is one method to put a price on this service.

As a result of the carbon tax, individuals and businesses will be incentivized to shift to less carbon-intensive activities or at least reduce their participation in carbon-intensive activities in order to reduce their tax liability.

Cap and Trade − Carbon emissions are limited annually under the cap-and-trade system, and businesses can exchange "shares" of carbon or "permits" to emit a set quantity of carbon in a carbon market. The system's main benefit is that it places a strict but manageable cap on carbon emissions. In order to comply with the Kyoto Protocol, which entered into force in 2005, the European Union is now using this strategy.

What is Carbon Offset?

Carbon offsetting is a monetary mechanism for supporting carbon emission reduction initiatives. Those who engage in carbon-intensive activities might support emission-reduction initiatives by purchasing "carbon offsets." A car rental service may give customers a carbon offset to pay for tree planting to reduce their carbon footprint.

How Does Carbon Offsetting Compare to Carbon Removal?

Carbon offsetting can aid in funding carbon removal efforts but does not guarantee that any emissions will be reduced as a consequence. If the money spent on a carbon offset goes toward a project that actually removes carbon from the atmosphere, then that money will be well spent. However, if the money goes toward a project that merely reduces the emission of new carbon into the atmosphere, like a wind or solar farm, then the carbon offset will not actually result in carbon removal. Since carbon offsetting does not automatically imply carbon removal, it is clear that the two concepts are linked but distinct.

Distinction between Carbon Sequestration and Carbon Offsetting

Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are based on carbon. There are two options for accomplishing this goal − biological sequestration and geologic sequestration.

Biologic sequestration involves the long-term storage of carbon in living things, including plants, soil, and water. If the soil is healthy, a good portion of the carbon from the carbon dioxide that plants take in will be stored there. Consequently, a carbon sink is produced. The creation of a carbon sink is one of the reasons why tree planting and the expansion of forested areas are advocated as climate change mitigation strategies.

For carbon sequestration to work geologically, carbon dioxide must be stored in deep rock formations. High pressure will be used to turn the carbon dioxide gas into a liquid, which will then be pumped into porous rock.

While carbon sequestration is the intended outcome of carbon offsetting, there are key differences between the two. When carbon is sequestered, it is taken out of the atmosphere and placed in non-atmospheric locations, such as rock formations or living organisms. Carbon offsets are a financial mechanism for mitigating the environmental impact of carbon-intensive activities by contributing to those that remove or reduce carbon emissions

The Concept of Carbon Offset

Carbon offset describes the practice of compensating for the emissions caused by one activity by investing in another that has the opposite effect. In other words, a decrease in carbon (often carbon dioxide) emissions in one region of the system is balanced by an increase in carbon (or carbon dioxide) drawdown in another region. In order to prevent a rise in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, it is necessary to limit carbon emissions in tandem with any measures that raise atmospheric carbon dioxide levels

Illustration of Carbon Offset

For their part in the flight's carbon emissions, passengers often have the option of buying a carbon offset from the airline. Carbon sequestration in another region of the world may be financed using this offset. Since carbon emissions are produced during the manufacturing of nearly all goods, including food, clothes, and transportation, this is an option for any business.

Third-party vendors are beginning to offer carbon offsets to businesses, and those businesses are then beginning to sell those offsets to their customers so that those consumers can compensate for their own role in the company's overall carbon footprint. Thus, in principle, there would be no net emission of carbon dioxide since, for every tonne of CO2 released into the atmosphere,

another tonne would be removed. It remains to be seen if and how this actually functions in the real world

Similarities Carbon reduction and Carbon offset

It is the goal of both carbon reduction and carbon offsetting to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other carbon-based greenhouse gases. Both hope to make the future monetary impact of climate change more concrete.

Differences between Carbon Reduction and Carbon Offset

The following table highlights the major differences between carbon reduction and carbon offset −

Characteristics	Carbon Reduction	Carbon Offset
Direct vs indirect	Carbon reduction entails a direct reduction in carbon emissions.	Carbon offsetting indirectly enables emissions to be made in exchange for a promise to pay for the mitigation or removal of equivalent amounts of carbon.
Focus	Emissions can be reduced by the use of levies or restrictions.	Funding for projects that do away with or reduce atmospheric carbon is what carbon offsetting is all about.
Effect on carbon emissions	The goal of carbon reduction is, as the name suggests, to lessen the output of carbon dioxide over time.	The goal of carbon offsetting is to prevent further emission growth by offsetting newly generated carbon emissions with equivalent amounts of carbon removal or emissions reduction.

Conclusion

By imposing a carbon tax or enacting rules that cap the overall amount of carbon emissions, carbon reduction aims to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere. A carbon tax on businesses and individuals for emissions and a cap-and-trade system are the two primary strategies. The carbon emissions allowed under the cap-and-trade regime are capped, and businesses can buy "carbon shares" to allow them to continue emitting a set amount of carbon dioxide annually.

To "offset" carbon emissions means to pay for actions that result in lower emissions or the removal of carbon. Carbon offsets aim to achieve carbon neutrality by funding projects that remove carbon from the atmosphere at the same rate at which carbon was released. Offsets are often used to finance reforestation projects in other parts of the globe, as is the case when a company offers its consumers the choice to do so.

Both carbon reduction and carbon offsetting have the same overarching goals: to lessen the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere and to make the monetary cost of future climate change more clear to society as a whole. Furthermore, there are substantial distinctions between the two. Carbon offsets aim to avoid more emissions by providing financial assistance for carbon removal or emissions reduction projects and encouraging individuals and businesses to do the same. The goal of carbon reduction is to cut down on carbon emissions as much as possible and to cut them down gradually over time. By making carbon-intensive activities more expensive through a carbon tax or restrictions, this strategy indirectly discourages them as well.