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What are carbon credits?

Carbon dioxide removal credits are a tradable commodity that signify a removal of one metric ton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. We are supporting credits generated by projects that physically remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and ensure storage for 100 - 1000+ years. These credits can be purchased to offset emissions and help achieve climate goals. 

What is CDR?

Carbon dioxide removal is the process of removing carbon from the atmosphere for long-term storage in oceanic and terrestrial carbon sinks with a low potential for re-release. If you’re familiar with traditional offsets – soil organic carbon, afforestation, deforestation, swapping a fuel source – the difference lies in the concept of avoided emissions versus additionality. Traditional offsets reduce an emissions impact but either do not eliminate the impact, have high reversibility, or are not rigorously measured. Durable carbon removal offsets are negative emission technologies that not only eliminate the impact of an emission but also remove an additional amount of carbon from the atmosphere. Durable CDR has low reversibility potential and ensures 100 - 1000+ years of storage depending on the removal pathway.

Terms

  • carbon dioxide removal

  • reducing emissions via alternative fuel or energy sources

  • business as usual scenario, what CO₂ emissions would have occurred in the absence of intervention

  • whether the removal is in addition to what would have happened in the counterfactual

  • low possibility of reversal and meets the minimum threshold of how long the removal lasts (100+ years)

  • tactic that exaggerates environmental benefits and/or ignores the negative impacts – spending 1% of a budget on a sustainability measure and spending the other 99% of the budget talking about that sustainability measure.