These carbon offsets are traded on a local, national and global scale. An international network of retailers, brokers and trading arenas exist to facilitate the buying and selling of these offsets. The offsets are normally measured in terms of a ton of carbon dioxide equivalents i.e. CO2e. Various activities can help create carbon offsets; for example, the use of renewable sources of energy such as wind power and biomass energy as well as participating in activities like reforestation and agriculture. The use of renewable energy systems can generate a tremendous carbon offset, due to the important fact that they eliminate the dependency on fossil fuels and virtually generate zero emissions.
As far as offset projects go, wind projects tend to be more sustainable and viable, especially since the process does not produce any ozone harming by-products and does not depend on fossil fuels. To quantify how many carbon offsets are generated by a wind farm, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), in 2008, the U.S. wind energy industry brought online approximately 8,500 megawatts (MW) of new wind power capacity. This production will help avoid nearly 44 million tons of carbon emissions - the equivalent of taking 7 million cars off the road. Therefore, for every megawatt of installed capacity, a wind farm can potentially earn approximately 5,175 of CO2e - the equivalent of taxing approximately 820 cars off the road. Wind energy generation organizations sell carbon offsets, benefitting both the buyer and the company. Buyers purchase these offsets because supporting wind power not only leads to the creation of a 'green' source of energy, but also helps 'negate' their own greenhouse emissions, big and small. Buying carbon offsets from wind farms are not only a way to ease the buyers' conscience and reduce their carbon footprint, but can also be much less expensive than making changes to eliminate emissions. The wind energy generation facility itself profits because selling these offsets makes the project more financially viable and profitable, which helps increase the scale of productivity as well.
With environmental markets growing, it is necessary to understand the scope of emissions today.
There are three different scopes for carbon emissions that occur in the carbon footprint of an organization or business concern:
o Emissions that are created directly at the location, through direct sources like on-site machinery and apparatus like a generator located at a factory.
o Energy related emissions and indirect power based emissions like the electricity purchased by a company to keep the premises well lit up.
o Emissions that occur via indirect sources of emissions like those related to the use of paper in an office, corporate travel etc.
As the United States has neither ratified the Kyoto Protocol nor mandated any laws to cap its emissions as of July 2009, all carbon offsets are voluntary. Therefore, only two environmental markets coexist in the U.S. i.e. carbon offsets also known as voluntary emission reductions (VERs) and renewable energy certificates (RECs). Although these markets are interrelated, there are marked differences between the two commodities.
VERs or carbon offsets, also called carbon reduction ton, denotes activities that result in a cutting of, reduction and/or getting rid of one ton of greenhouses gases at a given site, to counteract an emission taking place in another. Typically these offsets are used to negate direct emissions or a scope one emission. For example a company can purchase carbon offsets created through a wind power project to 'clear' emissions created by a boiler in their office.
Offsets are subject to a rigorous set of guidelines, standards and rules. These guidelines primarily ensure that vital environmental and financial criteria are met so that customers can be assured that the offsets purchased are indeed authentic and verifiable. There is also an additionality requirement that represents the fact that a given greenhouse gas reduction project would not have been made possible without the expectation of additional funds procured from the sale of offsets. This is to ensure that the emissions reduction activity is in addition to regular business practice, hence facilitating a reduction that would not have happened otherwise in previous circumstances. In other words, countries and/ or businesses must make an active contribution to emission reduction in order to earn or sell credits instead of relying on pre-existing projects planned for other reasons with funds already committed. Thereby, ensuring buyers that their purchase will further the betterment of the global climate and environment.
RECs or renewable energy certificates denote one megawatt hour (MWh) of energy produced by a 'clean' renewable source. Energy produced by sources like wind, hydro, and biomass represents an offset because an environmentally friendly procedure replaces one using environmentally degrading fuel; emitting little to no carbon in the process. Emission reductions take place during energy creation, by replacing fossil fuel, at the utility itself. RECs are typically used to counteract indirect scope two emissions, wherein 'clean' megawatts of electricity by the REC can neutralize the unclean ones used by a company. RECs, however, are generally not held to the same standards and more importantly the additionality requirements like VERs. As a result, they can be supplied from resources that are running as is, or in part from additional business activities.
It is interesting to note that only renewable energy projects such as wind farms and solar power plants meet the highest standards required of carbon offsets, as the risks they pose to the environment are negligible and they encourage a much needed departure from fossil fuel usage.
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