{"id":29,"date":"2007-03-08T17:29:28","date_gmt":"2007-03-08T22:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2007\/03\/08\/carbon_offsets\/"},"modified":"2013-11-21T13:46:58","modified_gmt":"2013-11-21T18:46:58","slug":"carbon_offsets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2007\/03\/08\/carbon_offsets\/","title":{"rendered":"Carbon Offsets Count"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

ignoratio elenchi <\/strong>n.<\/em>
\nA logical fallacy of presenting an argument that may in itself be valid, but has nothing to do with the proposition it purports to prove. Also known as “irrelevant conclusion”. [Lat. ignorance of refutation.<\/em>]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Al Gore’s response to charges of being an energy hog was that he buys carbon offsets to neutralize his carbon emissions. This sounded bogus to a lot of people, but in fact it’s not.<\/p>\n

The concept of carbon offsets is simple. If your lifestyle uses a lot of energy and you like the way you live, you can still reduce your carbon footprint by funding the negation of carbon emissions elsewhere. Carbon offsets work because the source of CO2<\/sub> doesn’t matter – only total CO2<\/sub> in the atmosphere matters.<\/p>\n

This isn’t clear to everybody. “Another stab at carbon offsets<\/a>” on Economist.com argues that it’s illogical to say, “I am pouring tons of carbon into the air with my transportation needs, so I will therefore . . . increase the supply of electricity in Kansas.” Yes, that’s illogical, but it’s not what carbon offsets do! Carbon offsets wouldn’t increase the supply of electricity in Kansas, they would reduce carbon emissions in Kansas.<\/p>\n

“A tale of two markets<\/a>“, also on Economist.com, argues that buying offsets doesn’t work because some offsets don’t deliver what they promise. It’s true that some offsets don’t deliver, but many do. That said, you do need to make a careful choice when buying offsets. To help you evaluate, Environmental Defense has established criteria for valid offsets<\/a>, and we provide links to portfolios of high-quality offsets<\/a> that meet our criteria.<\/p>\n

One other thing to note\u2026 Some investments that are good for the climate do not strictly qualify as offsets. For example, some energy companies sell “Green Certificates” or “Renewable Energy Certificates” (RECs) – money you give to the power company for investment in clean energy. Encouraging investment in green technology is good, but doesn’t offset your emissions because there is no direct link between your purchase and the power company\u2019s purchase of clean energy.<\/p>\n

In addition to misinformation, the news is swimming with Ignoratio Elenchi arguments against carbon offsets. “The Corporate Carbon Offset Craze<\/a>” argues that buying offsets can’t work because it’s so easy to do. Huh? “The Carbon Neutral Myth?<\/a>“, discussing a report from Carbon Trade Watch [PDF]<\/a>, argues that buying offsets encourages energy use by assuaging guilt. If buying offsets assuages guilt, it’s because it works. And there’s no reason to think that people would conserve more if carbon offsets weren’t available. If people don’t want to make a big effort and buying carbon offsets is easy, then how great that it’s an option!<\/p>\n

But this week\u2019s Ignoratio Elenchi Award goes to the Wall Street Journal<\/em> for “An Inconvenient Pool<\/a>“, which argues that carbon offsets don’t work because not everyone can afford to buy them. First of all, most middle class Americans can<\/em> afford to buy offsets, but regardless – there’s no reason why everybody has to buy offsets for them to work.<\/p>\n

The going rate for offsets in the U.S. is about $4 per ton. Since the average family emits 24 tons of CO2<\/sub> per year, most of us can become climate neutral for about $100 per year – that’s 27 cents a day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ignoratio elenchi n. A logical fallacy of presenting an argument that may in itself be valid, but has nothing to do with the proposition it purports to prove. Also known as “irrelevant conclusion”. 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