But if I have picked any winners at all, they'll be responsible for removing much more carbon than I or my family is responsible for," Gates writes. "Of course, investing in companies doesn't make my carbon footprint smaller. "I have put more than $1 billion into approaches that I hope will help the world get to zero, including affordable and reliable clean energy and low-emissions cement, steel, meat and more," Gates writes in his book. "Emissions will continue, but will be balanced by absorbing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere," according to the United Nations. Net zero emissions means getting to a place where collectively, there are no new emissions being added to the atmosphere. For instance, in 2015, Gates spearheaded the creation of Breakthrough Energy, a venture capital fund investing in climate innovation technology " that will lead the world to net-zero emissions." Gates writes that he is also investing in clean energy companies and non-profits. "Offsets provide one of the most efficient and near-term ways to drive finance to real emission reductions to help us bend the curve and keep below the planet's tipping points - buying us time to make the longer-term transition."
But, in the meantime, we need a way to reduce emissions now in order to avoid catastrophic climate change," says Naomi Swickard, the chief program officer at Verra. "Companies should set and work towards a net-zero target diligently and we should all hold them to those goals. Others, however, see it as better than nothing. It is worth noting that some criticize the idea of carbon offsets as a convenient stop-gap for more permanent solutions. Carbon dioxide is the used as a point of reference because it is the most common greehhouse gas in the atmosphere and "remains in the climate system for a very long time," Thiel says. Specifically, a "carbon offset represents a reduction or removal of one metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO 2) from the atmosphere," says Anne Thiel, the Communications Manager for Verra, a Washington, DC-based non-profit.
It can be made from any number of raw materials including cooking oil, plant oils, municipal waste, waste gases and agricultural residues, IATA says.įor Gates' non-aviation emissions, he writes that he is "buying offsets through a company that runs a facility that removes carbon dioxide from the air."Ī carbon offset is a reduction in carbon emissions to compensate for emissions produced elsewhere. Sustainable jet fuel is not made from fossil fuels, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the trade association for the world's airlines.
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