what is a carbon offset

A carbon offset is a way of “balancing out” greenhouse gas emissions by funding projects that reduce, remove, or avoid emissions somewhere else in the world.

Quick Scoop: What is a carbon offset?

Think of a carbon offset as a climate IOU: you emit a tonne of CO₂, then pay for a verified project that cuts or removes a tonne of CO₂‑equivalent somewhere else.

Each carbon offset (often called a carbon credit or offset unit) typically represents one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) reduced, avoided, or removed from the atmosphere.

How it works, in simple terms

1. You or a company calculate emissions (for example, from flights, factories, or events).

2. You buy offsets from certified projects that are proven to cut or remove an equivalent amount of emissions.

3. The credits are “retired” in a registry so they cannot be reused, and you claim that you have offset those specific emissions.

Common carbon offset projects

• Renewable energy (solar, wind, small hydro replacing fossil fuel power).

• Reforestation and forest protection, which act as carbon sinks by absorbing CO₂.

• Methane capture from landfills, agriculture, or wastewater.

• Improved agriculture and soil practices that store more carbon in the ground.

All of these must be measurable, verifiable, and “additional” — meaning they wouldn’t have happened without the offset funding.

Key terms you’ll see

• Carbon offset / carbon credit : A tradable certificate representing 1 metric ton of CO₂e reduced or removed.

• Carbon offsetting: The act of using these credits to counter your own emissions.

• Additionality: The reduction only occurs because of the offset project, not business‑as‑usual.

• Voluntary market: Where companies or individuals buy offsets by choice, beyond legal requirements.

Why people use carbon offsets

• To compensate for emissions that are hard to eliminate right now (like long‑haul flights, heavy industry).

• To support climate‑friendly projects in places that need investment.

• To help meet net‑zero or “carbon neutral” targets while they work on cutting their direct emissions.

A quick example: if a company emits 10,000 tons of CO₂ in a year and buys 10,000 high‑quality, verified offsets, it can claim those emissions have been balanced by reductions elsewhere.

Criticisms and ongoing debate

Carbon offsets are widely used but also controversial.

• Some projects over‑promise or don’t deliver real, permanent reductions.

• There’s concern they can be used as a “license to pollute” instead of cutting emissions at the source.

• Quality varies a lot, so standards and certifications are crucial to make sure offsets are real, additional, and not double‑counted.

Because of this, the current trend (especially in the mid‑2020s) is:
“Reduce your own emissions as much as possible first, then use high‑quality offsets only for what you genuinely can’t avoid yet.”

TL;DR: A carbon offset is a certified credit showing that one metric ton of CO₂‑equivalent has been reduced, avoided, or removed somewhere else, and you can buy and retire that credit to balance out your own emissions.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.