The idea portrayed by headlines such as the one below (from an earlier Wall Street Journal article*) - that carbon credits won't cut emissions - just serves to undermine the positive efforts that carbon credit programs can be capable of accomplishing.
It is likely that a modest voluntary carbon tax (which is currently carbon credits) won't significantly alter the actions of large emitters. This is particularly true when you consider the profit margins from generating carbon emissions from fossil fuels. It's more likely that cheaper renewables will eventually result in a greater impact on reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, rather than taxing those emissions.
The emissions we produce today pose a challenge. But, to understand the importance and significance of carbon credits, it is important to look beyond the income Statement. Instead it is better to look at our Balance Sheet. Particularly, we need to look at our Long-Term carbon Debt.
If Planet Earth were to maintain an account of its Balance Sheet, and we were required to record on our Asset column, our most basic needs including food security, physical security, availability of water and so on... as well as also in our Long Team entry for debt, the amounts of greenhouse gases, the extreme level of organic carbon in soil loss from our farmlands and the awe-inspiring levels of degradation of our most efficient carbon storage areas - the coastal mangrove forests It is evident from any examination of the balance sheet that the current situation is not the result of a single year's emissions. If it were a balance statement, insolvency would surely be on the list.
Which is why I think that any headline that contains offsets for carbon and emission reductions is misguided and the issues that we're experiencing in the wake of climate change are not simply the result of carbon dioxide emissions. They are the result of a long period (centuries?) poor farming practices, the utter destruction of mangroves, pollution and a myriad of other wrongs.
How widespread is the destruction? Mangrove forests that range from 50% to 65% have disappeared completely or are severely degraded. A lot of areas of the world's farmlands have lost upto 80% of their carbon content in soil, which has led to the food security of our planet being in danger.
This is why it is important to move our thinking from "triple-bottom-line" to the accrued debt on the balance sheet. Think of carbon credits as a "balance sheet item for adjustment" that is a part of this total debt, and not simply a tax on today's emissions. A credit (carbon) is a credit that could be used to reduce the amount of (carbon] debt.
How can we cut this debt?
It's not difficult to discover the answer. Here's an example. CarbonNation Blue is an CarbonNation fund. The fund's focus is one simple, but very effective thing: to restore and protect mangroves. For mangroves to be sustainable, forests require a substantial amount of funding. A mangrove forest of 15,000 hectares that must be replanted will cost between USD2,500 and USD4,500 per hectare. The investment is paired with three years of meticulous cultivation within the local community.
Furthermore, local onshore fisheries must be provided with better algae-based filtering methods so that nitrogen and phosphorus are removed from the water and that the quality of produce is improved.
After this time when the forest is mature and algae plants are brought online, carbon credits are created that can be utilized to repay the principal and a return on investment to investors, as well as the community - who also are the main beneficiaries of the first stage of investment. What are the benefits? Mangroves that cover more land will mean more fish and is a major source of income for many coastal communities.
A better protection against coastal erosion and rising waters is made possible by the presence of more mangroves. As most people know by now, mangroves offer up to 50x higher carbon sequestration than low-density forests. Yes, machines that extract carbon from the air and the storage underground is impressively futuristic-looking - but mangroves have been doing it for millions of years, and providing us with food for the same time.
The fund Click here for more info has secured substantial financing and also other partners to support these efforts. However, you are still welcome to connect with additional partners.
*This article is well-written and well researched. My problem is the headline, which is negative and misleading. It is based upon the article text and may have been changed or added to by the editor.