What is a Carbon offset?
A carbon offset is when a carbon credit compensates for emissions occurring elsewhere via reduction, avoidance, or sequestering. A carbon credit is a financial unit of measurement that represents the removal of one metric tonne (1,000 kg or 2,205 lbs) of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Who issues carbon credits?
Carbon credits are issued by one of the world’s carbon standards, such as the Gold Standard, the Verified Carbon Standard, or the Climate Action Reserve. Credits are only issued after the project has met all the requirements of the standard and has been verified by a third-party verifier. Each carbon credit is carefully accounted for and removed from the registry after purchase.
What is Planet Protection?
Planet-warming carbon emissions are contributing to unsustainable climate change with transportation ranked as a top contributor (EPA).
The good news is that now every one of us can reduce the impact of carbon emissions with carbon reduction and absorption strategies. Planet Protection by Aspiration purchases carbon offsets to mitigate the carbon impact of your driving.
Do carbon offsets really work?
All of the projects that Aspiration supports with Planet Protection are verified to prevent greenhouse gasses from reaching the atmosphere. Each project focuses on improving or developing carbon emissions reduction technology, and every project is verified to ensure it meets the test of “additionality.” The concept of additionality means that the amount of carbon emissions entering the atmosphere is less than it would have been without the project, and the project would not have been carried out without the funding through carbon offsets.
All of the projects that Aspiration supports through Planet Protection go through a rigorous verification process and are subject to ongoing monitoring and verification by organizations such as the Verified Carbon Standard, Gold Standard, American Carbon Registry, and Climate Action Reserve as well as by an independent auditor and site visits from our partners.
How do you determine how much carbon to offset?
Planet Protection currently offsets the estimated CO2 emissions from driving your vehicle. To determine the amount of CO2 to offset, we track your purchases at gas stations and then use the national average price for gas to estimate how many gallons you purchased. From there, we use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data to calculate the amount of CO2 emitted from each gallon of gas, and then purchase carbon offsets to counteract your emissions.
How much CO2 impact do I have anyway?
The average American emits 16.6 tonnes of CO2 equivalents per year through a combination of activities.
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