The human factor | Carbon credits: action or illusion?

The ecological transition is complex. Every week, we explore the solutions available to us to make an impact on the climate and environmental crisis.

An analogy is commonly used to illustrate the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere: that of the bathtub.

If you fill your bathtub faster than the drain can drain, inevitably the water level will rise.

This is what happens with CO₂ which is added to the atmosphere faster than the Earth’s surface can absorb. If you don’t turn off the bathtub faucet, but pay a company to remove water in 10 or 15 years, will you escape overflowing?

This is one of the criticisms of carbon offset credits which make it possible to finance GHG reduction projects. These credits enable the production of renewable energies, the increase in energy efficiency, the planting of trees or the fight against deforestation.

“Are we just paying to ease our conscience or does it really help reduce our emissions? asks Richard Perron, a reader who estimates the amount he and his wife spend each year to offset the carbon footprint of their travels at between $100 and $360.

In recent years, the offer of carbon offset programs on the so-called “voluntary” market has become widespread among air carriers. Recently, Richard Perron paid an extra $10.88 to Air Canada for the purchase of offset credits for a flight between Saint John’s and Victoria that he will take in June. “It’s not a big amount. Does this really serve any purpose or is it greenwashing? », he asks.

Gaps exposed

Among players in the sector and in academia, the question is debated. First in terms of program reliability and then in relation to the very existence of this approach.

In recent years, journalistic investigations and scientific analyzes have demonstrated that several projects, which nevertheless respected the highest international standards, did not allow real CO reductions.₂.

Read a survey from Guardian on the ineffectiveness of a tropical forest protection program (in English)

Read a survey from The Press on Canada’s tree planting projects

Also, although many credits are issued after carbon reduction or capture has taken place, others are issued in advance. The problem: it can sometimes years, even decades, pass before trees absorb CO₂ issued by the plane flight that a traveler wishes to neutralize. However, there is little time left to act to limit global warming to 1.5°C, warn IPCC scientists.

Two years ago, faced with the industry’s failings, the David Suzuki Foundation withdrew its support from any carbon offset program.

In a systematic literature review published in January in Transport Policya researcher from the University of Lisbon found that these programs have “a limited contribution to the sustainability of aviation”, notably due to their ineffectiveness in changing traveler behavior and their low membership rate.

Read the scientific review on the Science Direct website (in English)

Biologist Jean-François Boucher, professor of eco-consulting at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi and expert in forest carbon management, for his part firmly believes in the impact of carbon offsetting. As long as the compensation program has a recognized certification such as VSC or Gold Standard or adheres to the ISO-14 064-2 standard and is verified accordingly.

If he first advocates reduction at source, he also believes that this reduction must go hand in hand with compensation for remaining emissions. Trees planted today will be of great service to us in a decade or two. “We must greatly increase, on a global scale, the absorption of greenhouse gases, without that, we will not achieve carbon neutrality,” says Mr. Boucher, who was until 2018 scientific director of Carbone boréal, a GHG offset program which is also a UQAC research infrastructure and which sells credits in advance.

Even if this approach does not allow a perfect temporal match between emissions and absorption, “if we did not accept this type of initiative, we would not have any plantations taking place or it would be very difficult to finance,” argues he said, saying he was hopeful that the certifiers would be able to correct the deficiencies.

For Kate Ervine, associate professor of international development studies at St. Mary’s University in Halifax and author of the essay Carbon, the very approach to carbon offsetting is a “dangerous distraction”. In the context where there is an urgent need to act, the affordability of credits offered on the voluntary market does not make it possible to quickly change behavior. “As individuals, we say to ourselves, ‘Wow this is really easy and inexpensive. Now I can continue doing everything I’ve always done. » This is not a transformative solution. »

While very few people are ready to give up flying, isn’t carbon offsetting a lesser evil?

An opinion shared by Thomas Green, of the David Suzuki Foundation. “It forces us to ask ourselves: do I really need this flight and, if so, is there a way to manage this? » If taking a plane to visit family may seem essential, is this the case for that meeting our boss asks us to attend in person?

This dilemma is not easy for many travelers.

However, experts agree on one thing: compensating is not reducing.

Possible solutions

The figure of the week: 287,000

Nearly 230,000 trees and 57,000 shrubs will be planted in eastern Montreal to reduce heat islands and improve air quality and access to natural environments for area residents. This investment by the City of Montreal and the Government of Canada was announced during the Montreal Climate Summit which was held earlier this week. The money paid by the federal government is part of the “2 billion trees” program, which aims to plant as many plants by 2030.

Read an article on energy efficient initiatives in Montreal

The good idea: waste as currency

Craft brewer, florist, beekeeper: in France, Marseillais can now pay for their small purchases in around ten businesses with currency obtained through waste collection. This Wild Currency, made from recycled plastic from collected marine waste, aims to reward citizens for their cleaning actions. The Sauvage Méditerranée association has put into circulation 1000 coins with a value equivalent to 5 euros (one kilo of waste = two coins). For each coin spent in a participating business, the organization will donate 5 euros to an association dedicated to defending the environment.

See a report on wild money on the Brut website. media

Food for thought: rethinking travel

As climate change leads to a rethinking of our travel habits, Earth squared offers an interesting exchange on our relationship with elsewhere and on the challenges for tomorrow’s tourism. This is the opportunity to discover this daily program dedicated to the environment, hosted by Mathieu Vidard. France Inter announced earlier this week that it would disappear in its current form at the start of the school year to be replaced by a new version, a decision that many listeners deplored.

See the show page Earth squared on the France Inter website

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