Climate change has been a hot topic for many years now. There are documentaries, reports, and media articles from everywhere published to convince people to change their life habits and protect the environment.
With no surprise, one of the biggest causes of global warming is the increasing amount of GHG, or greenhouse gas, released into the atmosphere. This is mostly due to human activity, especially the food and transportation sectors that release a large amount of CO2, or carbon dioxide, into the air. In 2017, road transport alone accounted for over 35% of GHG emissions.
The most efficient solution to reduce our CO2 emissions is inevitably to decrease our consumption in general, but did you know that you can also compensate for your emissions?
Compensate Your Carbon Footprint
The compensation of your carbon footprint is a trading mechanism by which you partially or totally substitute your own emissions by purchasing equivalent capture from a third party. This “capture” thing is mostly made by trees, which store the carbon found in CO2 and release the oxygen in the air. Scientists call this process “Carbon sequestration”… yes, you read right!
Therefore, anyone, be a company or an individual, can reduce their carbon footprint by buying what is called “carbon credits” or carbon offset. This purchase can be made to companies that will, for example, reforest specific areas, create nurseries, fight deforestation, etc.
To know how many carbon credits need to be bought to compensate for your consumption, you must calculate your carbon footprint. This is calculated by summing up the impact of all your activities, including travels, food, and moves, and gives you the total GHG emissions for a person or organization.
Quebec Carbon Offset
Many companies sell carbon offsets, but it is hard to know who is reliable and who’s not. Fortunately, we have many recognized companies here in Quebec that will let you offset your carbon footprint. Un point cinq, Quebec’s climate change action media, has a list of them. Here are 5 :
- Carbone boréal, in Chicoutimi
Organisation managed by the Chaire en éco-conseil of the Université du Québec à Chichoutimi. Its goal is to reforest Quebec territories and it has reforestation operations in territories where the boreal forest doesn’t grow.
- ECOTIERRA, in Sherbrooke
Sustainable project developer that fights deforestation through international projects. They work with small producers, mainly in Peru and in South America, to tackle forest, land, and soil degradation.
- Solutions Will, in Beloeil
Company that wants to promote and facilitate energy efficiency by funding micro-projects on an international scale. These projects are in relation to renewable energy, deforestation, and improved agricultural production.
- Planetair, in Montreal
Non-profit organization that works to optimize waste management through the funding of various international projects. They also have reforestation, optimizing agricultural production, and development of renewable energy plans.
- Irokko, in Quebec
Mobile app launch in 2017 that allows you to choose your carbon credits and the place where they will be used directly from your phone. You can opick places from all around the world such as Asbestos, Peru, the Andean Cordillera, etc.
You know have tools to compensate for your carbon footprint intelligently!
