The Failure of Carbon Offsetting
Carbon offsetting in its current form is fine in principle, but fails in practice. The global average of flights that are offset is less than 1% (see this article from the UK's Telegraph newspaper). It's an idea that has not taken off.
Wrong philosophy
Carbon offsetting sends the wrong message: if you make a mess in the playroom, you can pay someone else to clean it up. But according to the experts, global warming is an imminent threat to us all, and keeping climate change within tolerable limits will require the participation of us all. Sure, citizens of developed countries should support developing countries in helping them to reduce emissions, but they should make a more serious attempt at reducing their own emissions first.
Lack of interest
The tiny figures for the percentage of flights that are offset speak for themselves: there is very little interest. To make carbon offsetting interesting it must first be practiced locally. Airline passengers may not be tempted to pay extra money that goes to a remote wind farm in northern China or a tract of rainforest in Brazil, but they may be tempted to pay extra money if they know it supports the school that their children attend. Once the general public understand offsetting better, more of them will then support it.
Value for money – education
It's difficult for people to understand where they can attain value for money with normal carbon offsetting. You pay a price per tonne of carbon dioxide released, but the impact of that tonne of carbon dioxide is very difficult to perceive. With our approach, Community Carbon Offsetting, your money goes into the local community, typically a school. The money is used to support activities that further benefit the environment, they are educational, highly visible to you and your colleagues and the benefits are much easier to understand.
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