By Sean Weaver, Director of Ekos
Jacinda Ardern wants us to be a net zero carbon nation by 2050. But what does this mean? What is a net zero position and can we become net zero now?
Our net carbon emissions footprint is the balance between our (gross) greenhouse gas emissions (typically from the combustion of fossil fuels, with other sources contributing) and any GHG removals from carbon sequestration (the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, often by trees). This applies to countries and companies. Unlike countries, most businesses do not have forests inside their business boundary, so we are mostly net emitters with a net carbon footprint considerably above zero.
To get to net zero from in-house emission reductions alone is usually either impossible or prohibitively expensive. This is where carbon offsets come in. When we purchase carbon offsets (carbon credits) we are paying someone else to create additional net carbon benefits to the atmosphere to cover our remaining carbon liability.
The carbon benefits represented by carbon credits are additional because the carbon benefits in a carbon credit project would not have happened without the carbon project and without the revenue from the sale of these carbon credits to finance this additional action.
Let’s explain this further with an example. Imagine you are a beef and lamb farmer with some steep, erosion-prone land on your farm that really ought to be permanently forested, and put into a conservation covenant. Permanently reforesting this land would delete a significant revenue stream from the farm balance sheet however, and potentially put you out of business. So, unsurprisingly you say “no thanks” to reforesting that land even though it is a much more appropriate land use.
But if you could create and sell carbon credits from that land instead of meat and wool, then reforesting would not damage your farming business – it may even make it better. Then you might agree to undertake a forest carbon project on your land and help to reduce stream sedimentation and erosion risk.
This is the kind of forest carbon project that Ekos develops in its Nature Carbon Programme. Buyers of carbon credits from this programme not only get to net zero carbon emissions, but also help support sustainable land management and the benefits that go with this, such as ecosystem recovery, erosion control and waterway protection.
Ekos and Catalyst® Ltd have worked on a number of projects together in the past 4 years. Catalyst® supports Ekos in the measurement of business GHG emissions and Ekos provides quality local and Pacific Island sourced carbon credits. We share the same philosophy that business should develop and implement effective carbon management plans that focus foremost on reducing GHG emissions. For emissions that cannot be eliminated, quality carbon credits then provide a mechanism for reaching your targets. For more information contact Wymond.