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With the industrialization and modernization of the global communities, the effects of carbon emissions on the environment and greenhouse effect or global warming is on the rise. There are several proposals and methods that have been devised to measure and mitigate the increase in carbon emissions in the environment. These efforts lead to a new concept called the carbon offset that gives an estimate of how much reduction in
carbon levels in environment has been achieved. This article focuses on the importance and relevance of carbon offset system and its practical applicability in countering the increasing levels of carbon emission in the environment.
Principle: In contrary to the carbon credit and carbon credit exchange policies, carbon offset relies on encouraging systems and methods to counter the increasing carbon levels in the environment. There are no rigid rules and policies that control and manage the carbon offset level in global level. However certain voluntary organizations and activists are proposing and promoting the ideas of carbon offset.
Carbon offset techniques: The carbon offset aims at reducing the carbon levels in the atmosphere. The trees help in consuming the carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen during photosynthesis. Hence tree plantations and green revolutions have aimed at increasing the plantations in such zones where carbon emissions are high. The other conservative principles of renewable energy, wind energy, solar energy, and methane capture offsets methods have also been devised and adopted widely by many countries. The effects and advantages of these offset methods are discussed below.
Trees: This involves reforestation and preserving the existing forests. Many government level policies and non-profit organizations are concentrating in these efforts and are gaining publicity and support from the public. Also sufficient efforts to preserve the existing forests from damage mainly due to forest fires are being devised. The forest fires apart from destroying the trees also release all the stored carbons back into the atmosphere making the situation much worse. Apart from carbon capture, tress also aid in preventing soil erosion, providing wood for building furniture, houses and also provide shade. The forests aid in controlling the climate by cooling the earth, controlling water vapor content in the air, and absorbing the heat energy from the sun
Renewable energy and conservation: This is the second most important and effective method to promote and extend the carbon offset. The renewable energy product ion involves generation of power from wind, solar energy, biofuel, and hydroelectric stations. Apart from these renewable energy systems, focus on energy preservation and conservative use is also proved to be beneficial in reducing the carbon levels in the atmosphere.
Methane offset: The third most important concept in carbon offset is methane capture methods. This involves control of methane emission which is many times more destructive than carbon. The methane is also a vital factor that causes global warming.
Control and monitoring: Apart from devising policies and schemes for carbon offset, a continuous monitoring and measuring system is also essential. This system will enable to maintain a constant watch and measure the performance of various methods adopted.
