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That's why Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) compiled a list of offset projects it would invest in for its own offset needs. The environmental group unveiled the list Wednesday to help the public identify offsets that will deliver real greenhouse gas reductions.
"Companies increasingly see the value in incorporating carbon offsets into their overall climate action strategies, but until now, buyers had to do their own homework to determine which projects were most credible," said Thomas Murray, EDF managing director of corporate partnerships.
The Carbon Offset Project List includes 11 projects so far, the majority of which target methane: eight capture potent methane gas from landfills that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere. There is also a project that avoids methane from a pulp-and-paper mill, another that alters waste management practices to capture and destroy methane, and one that connects truckers to the power grid to avoid idling.
Voluntary carbon offsets catch a lot of flak because they are unregulated and often lack transparency. Critics sometimes compare them to "indulgences" once sold to sinners to absolve them of their bad deeds.
They can help businesses reduce their carbon footprint as part of a management plan that includes direct on-site reductions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said carbon offsets could meet nearly a third of the reductions needed in the U.S. through 2025.
EDF sent out a request-for-proposal for offset projects and reviewed them internally and with an outside expert panel. To earn a spot on the list, projects must produce direct emission reductions -- not indirect emissions reductions from energy generation, such as renewable energy certificates.
The emissions reductions must be additional so a project won't be considered if it was required by law or would have occurred regardless of the offset revenues. The reductions cannot be resold and must permanent, so if the emissions could one day enter the atmosphere, insurance must be maintained. All emissions reductions must be independently verified.
Energy Savings
Global warming is caused by the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels to provide the energy savings and services we use every day. We burn fossil fuels for electricity (from coal and gas) in our homes and businesses, our cars, flights and to create the food, clothes and other things we buy and consume every day.