Before knowing the essential terms of carbon offset, it is important to understand the real definition of carbon offset. Carbon offset refers to any action that recompenses for the carbon dioxide (CO2) emission by delivering an effort of emission reduction. Other kinds of greenhouse gases that are measured in CO2e are included as the emissions.

Simply, carbon offsetting is a method through which any individual or a company can recompense for their emission of CO2 through certified emission reduction project support. Those projects should be able to reduce emissions. Any individual or organization should buy carbon credits in which 1 carbon credit can reduce 1 ton of CO2.

What Are the Essential Terms Of Carbon Offset?

 There are certain terms that relate to carbon offset. Those terms include:

1. Voluntary Carbon Market

This is a market that began in 2000 under the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change. Its main aim was to assist countries in the northern hemisphere to meet their targets of the Kyoto Protocol. The target includes financing actions for emission reduction in southern hemisphere countries because they are very vulnerable to climate change.

The mechanism of this market lets activities of CO2 emitted by any individual or company who wants to finance carbon reduction and storage programs. It can bring benefits to either the local communities or biodiversity.

2. Carbon Footprint

This term refers to the greenhouse gasses amount as the emission by a company’s activities. This footprint brings a big environmental impact that relates to GHG emissions.

3. Carbon Offsetting

This term means the compensating residual greenhouse gas emissions action through projects that can absorb carbon dioxide. This term also refers to the action of avoiding carbon dioxide.

4. Afforestation

This term relates to the new forest plantation on areas that were never been planted any trees beforehand. Simply, it is the new forest in the past, i.e. the creation of new forests.

5. CO2e

It is the equivalent of carbon dioxide. Metric measure utilized to put all the gasses of a greenhouse on the basis of their global-warming potential is on the same scale.

6. Blue Carbon

It refers to solutions of water-based carbon. It is situated in coastal and marine ecosystems. They include seagrasses, mangroves, and tidal marshes. They can absorb a high carbon dioxide amount in either the plants or sediments.

7. Carbon Neutrality

It is the global equilibrium between the emissions and absorption of anthropogenic. It is impossible for any product or service to be carbon neutral as such. Yet, it has the chance to contribute to achieving global carbon neutrality. The aims of carbon neutrality are to reduce the total emissions amount and increase the capacity of absorption.

8. Decarbonization

It refers to the development of obtaining zero fossil carbon by any individuals, companies, or even countries. It refers typically to carbon emissions reduction that relates to electricity, transportation, and industry.

 All in all, it is crucial to emphasize that the process of carbon offsetting should go hand in hand with the practices of emission reduction. This is to ensure that it results in effective measurement. The neutralization measures of carbon offsetting contribute highly to accelerating the zero emissions worldwide.