Carbon offsets compatible with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming: Call for a direct action

Journal article, 2024

The societal commitment to combat climate change is reflected in the Paris Agreement with the primary focus to mitigate climate change by reducing or limiting greenhouse gas emissions. To facilitate the achievement of emission reduction targets, innovative carbon crediting and offsetting mechanisms have been developed. These mechanisms enable stakeholders to offset their emissions by using carbon offset credits if needed. These carbon offset methodologies can be classified into two main categories. The first category involves directly reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the environment through green and emission-capturing solutions, such as reforestation and carbon capture and storage. The second category focuses on achieving a relative reduction in carbon emissions by using or investing in technologies with lower carbon intensity compared to business-as-usual practices, such as renewable energy. The reduction achieved in this second category is assumed to be equivalent to not emitting the calculated amount of emissions. However, both categories generally do not address the emissions' sources directly. This study introduces a third approach by proposing the creation of a carbon offset market at the emissions' source, offering a novel way to directly tackle the origins of carbon emissions. This approach aims to prevent emissions from being released in the first place, directly addressing the source of emissions. It aligns with the precautionary principle, which advocates for proactive measures to prevent harm. This approach should not be confused with the non-consumption approach, which is a top-down strategy focused on reducing demand. Instead, it is a bottom-up approach that seeks to reduce the supply of emissions. This study developed a four-step methodology for implementing a carbon offset market at the source, starting with fixing fossil fuel extraction per producer, then fixing the profit margin per unit of extraction, then calculating the carbon content per unit of fossil fuel, and finally creating a carbon offset market at the source where one can offset their carbon footprint by paying an amount equivalent to the profit from fossil fuel extraction to the producer in exchange for a reduction in an equivalent amount of fossil fuel extraction. It also offers insights into emission reductions potential through this approach, along with cost calculations per unit of reduction based on historical records, literature data, and statistical databases. The main advantage of the proposed approach is its bottom-up focus on reducing the supply of emissions, which leads to tangible and quantifiable reductions in real time. This method eliminates potential loopholes in traditional methodologies, ensuring that the reductions are both immediate and verifiable.