"Carbon Offsetting plays a pivotal role in addressing climate change where the cost-benefit of emissions reductions practices makes purchasing verified emissions reductions (VERsVerified Emission Reductions or Voluntary Emissions Reductions are tradable credits for greenhouse emission reduction activities generated to meet voluntary demand for carbon credits by organisations and individuals wanting to offset their own emissions. VERs can be generated from projects to which a range of circumstances might apply, including:
- are either based in a country that has not ratified the Kyoto ProtocolAn international agreement linked to the UNFCCC and sharing its aim of stabilising atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, but requiring separate ratification by governments. The Kyoto Protocol, among other things, sets binding targets for the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions by industrialized countries. It entered into force for ratifying countries in February 2006 and commits developed nations to collectively cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2 per cent of 1990 levels by 2012. Came into force in Australia on 11 March 2008. (e.g. USA) or does not have the infrastructure to support CDMClean Development Mechanism is a Kyoto Protocol mechanism under which projects set up in developing countries to reduce GHGs generate tradeable credits called CERs. The credits can be used by industrialised nations to help meet their Kyoto reduction targets. Find out more here. project development;
- have not yet been registered under the CDM;
- fall outside the scope of the CDM;
- are too small to warrant the costs of CDM approval;
- are specifically developed for the voluntary market.) lower cost to an individual or organisation than employing abatementA reduction in the amount or intensity of greenhouse gas emissions as a result of actions taken by a company or individual. practices on their own. COzero advocates the adoption of an optimal cost-benefit approach to carbon neutrality.
COzero encourages an overall approach to reducing emissions to approach carbon neutrality (where an entity's carbon emissions are equal or lesser than the emissions they prevent from entering the atmosphere). There are three primary steps to this approach: analyse, reduce, retireIn the context of carbon offsets, this means to remove a carbon credit or permit from the market. As a result of retirementIn the context of carbon offsets, this is the act of removing a carbon credit or permit from the market so that abatement cannot be traded any further. Retiring offsets helps to prevent the resale or reuse of offsets that have already been used. those offsets cannot be traded any further. Retiring offsets is a means of regulating offsetting and preventing companies and individuals from selling or buying offsets that have already been used..
COzero understands that not all entities can reduce their carbon emissions to zero, so by providing a range of best practice VERs to 'fill the gap' the organisation is helping to reduce the causes of climate change."