hiilikompensaatiojärjestelmät

hiilikompensaatio, often translated as carbon offsetting, is a mechanism designed to compensate for greenhouse gas emissions. The core idea is that an entity that cannot reduce its emissions to zero can instead fund projects that reduce, avoid, or remove an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases elsewhere. These offsets are typically quantified in tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).

The process usually involves a project that demonstrably reduces emissions compared to a business-as-usual scenario. Examples include renewable energy projects that displace fossil fuel power, energy efficiency improvements, reforestation or afforestation efforts that sequester carbon in trees, and projects that capture methane from landfills or agricultural activities. These projects are often verified by independent third parties to ensure their environmental integrity.

Companies and individuals purchase carbon credits, each representing one ton of CO2e reduced or removed, to balance out their own unavoidable emissions. This is intended to incentivize emission reduction activities in areas where they may be more cost-effective or technically feasible.

However, carbon offsetting has faced criticism. Concerns include issues of additionality (whether the emission reductions would have happened without the offset funding), permanence (whether the sequestered carbon will remain stored), leakage (whether emissions are simply shifted elsewhere), and the potential for "greenwashing" where companies use offsets to avoid making genuine internal emission reductions. Despite these debates, carbon offsetting remains a tool used by many to address their carbon footprint.