Carbon - Carbon - Carbon

CARBON – CARBON – CARBON

There is a lot of talk about carbon today… we hear of carbon credits, carbon offsets, carbon caps or limits, carbon sequestering, carbon footprint, and that is just the beginning. These are all related to lowering carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, by technological means or changes in the way we do things or organise our affairs. Let’s take a look at one of these and understand what it means, and what effect it can have.

Carbon offsets are in the news and the public eye, so let’s see what they are about. My wife and I recently went on-line and booked a pair of return air tickets to Calgary; the process was pretty straightforward. Then we came to a question: Did we wish to purchase a carbon offset? Naturally being rather inquisitive, I took a look to see what it was about.

First we have to back up slightly. Remember a few columns back I mentioned that the burning of fossil fuels is the main contributor to the build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere? Carbon offsets are meant to lessen or remove a portion of each individual’s contribution to the carbon dioxide load, by doing or supporting something that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In Canada, this typically means planting trees. So, Air Canada figures that flying two adults to Calgary and back generates about 1.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide, and that, if we wish to pay it, they will give $19.20 on our behalf to an organisation called Zerofootprint (www.zerofootprint.net) who will plant enough trees to absorb that much carbon dioxide. Zerofootprint’s website has enough detail on carbon offsets to satisfy everyone’s curiosity.

Although there are several issues associated with this approach, it is clearly better to do something than nothing. For example, there is considerable disagreement about how much carbon dioxide is absorbed by a tree growing in Canada vs. a tree in a tropical forest. You may have seen the R and T article on Aug. 14, in which the Ontario Government promises to plant 50 million trees to “soak up” 3.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, or 76 kg/tree. Another reference I found indicates 560 kg/tree. As well, we want to ensure that the offset is incremental, that is, they use my $19.20 to plant extra trees, not just buy a truck to haul the trees. How long before those trees soak up the 1.2 tonnes from my trip? Is there enough space where trees can be planted to account for my and other Canadians travel requirements? Can or should we differentiate between essential travel and discretionary travel? I read recently that flying to a tropical island in February so you can lie on the beach may become socially unacceptable as people become more aware of their individual impact on carbon dioxide levels.

Air Canada’s claim of 1.2 tonnes is backed up by solid evidence, as they fly a lot of people to a lot of places, and they have very detailed information regarding fuel use, load factors etc. Air Canada is doing their part to lower their carbon footprint by employing more fuel-efficient aircraft, using weight reducing strategies, and managing their fuel usage more carefully. Some other carbon offsets may be based on more speculative data, but as I mentioned above, it is clearly better to do something than do nothing.

From an industry perspective, there are a lot of strategies in place. Carbon can be traded just like other commodities. If an industry produces X tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, and implements technical and operational changes that lower this to 80% of X, they can then “sell” their 20% saving to someone who is willing to pay, less a small portion that is “retired”, that is, withdrawn from the overall amount of carbon dioxide that is discharged to the atmosphere. The purchasing industry may be winding down, or in the process of updating their process, or struggling with out-of-date equipment, or all of these. The marketplace seems to decide how much a carbon offset is worth, and as more people become aware and concerned about the issue, this value is only going to increase.

As you can tell, right now this process is voluntary, at least at the consumer level, but in the coming years we will likely see guidelines and regulations coming into force, and offsets may be applied to personal transportation and other activities over which we, as individuals, have control.

Carbon offsets are one of many means we have to reduce our carbon footprint, that is, the amount by which each of us, through our everyday activities, adds to the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere. It will require a concerted effort to by industry and government to make this work, because ordinary people will be very resentful if they are doing their best regarding carbon dioxide reduction yet significant contributors in the public and private sector are being seen as getting away with uncontrolled generation.