Frequently Asked Questions

The following information will help you calculate the CO2 emissions associated with your personal:

1. Personal travel by automobile (to and from work, shopping, etc.)
2. Air travel
3. Home energy use.

For each of the three areas that generate CO2, you may choose to estimate your emissions based on general, readily available information or you may choose to gather more detailed data and information and enter them into the formulas provided.

Note that your emissions calculations will be made in pounds of CO2, but the final offset amounts will be calculated in metric tons of CO2. U.S. information on CO2 emissions is typically denominated in pounds of CO2, but the internationally recognized measurement, i.e. the measurement for regulated CO2 emissions in Europe, is metric tons.

Yes!  The Climate Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose primary mission is to implement high quality project-based emissions reductions and to advance sound offset policy.  This means that even more of your donation will go towards reducing green house gases.

Offset means “neutralize,” “balance,” or “cancel out.” When we do certain activities like drive, fly or heat our homes we emit carbon dioxide. Carbon offsets counteract these activities by funding projects that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

When you buy a carbon offset, therefore, you are paying to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Carbon offsets are an easy and affordable way to compensate for our contribution to climate change. They are a critical piece of the solution to global warming because they push investments into new technologies and programs that make a difference today.

As of 2005, some 92% of all funds received by The Climate Trust went toward offset projects or specific programs to support projects and advance sound offset policy.  As a  non-profit dedicated to offsest project development, your funds mostly cover direct payments to project owners, sponsors, and developers.  Actual costs vary from project-to-project, and high-quality offsets from our projects may cost more than some alternatives available in the market today.  In these cases, our higher cost is not a result of taking a higher "margin", but rather because of our focus on quality and environmental integrity at the project level.  With very few exceptions, our offsets come from projects we have ourselves solicited, assessed, and negotiated, and whose performance we continue to monitor and verify.  Exceptions include offsets from providers with whom we have long-standing partnerships and who adhere to the same principles of quality and integrity .  Any remaining funds cover the costs of managing this site and further development of programs for voluntary and mandatory buyers.

Currently, The Climate Trust does not have the ability to direct your contribution to a project of your choice. Your contribution instead goes to a pool of projects.  The Climate Trust invests in large-scale GHG emission reduction projects which makes it difficult to anticipate precisely when and from which projects the reductions will become available for CarbonCounter.org.  Nevertheless, all reductions from all projects meet the same high standards for quality and environmental integrity; each credit we buy and subsequently retire towards your purchase is recorded and accounted for on an individual basis.

The Climate Trust applies strict criteria in a formal review and purchase decision-making process involving third-party review before and after (ongoing monitoring and verification). We have seven years of experience in purchasing high quality project-based emissions reductions that must meet strict offset criteria.

We seek to cover our program costs, not to make a profit. CarbonCounter asks $12/ton (tax deductible) to cover the costs of finding projects, negotiating purchase contracts, buying the offsets, and then monitoring and verifying project performance. This price also seeks to cover the cost of managing offset delivery mechanisms (tracking purchases, registering and retiring offsets, site administration, etc.).

Our transactions contribute to increased market activity that contributes to more certainty. Currently, the cost of a GHG offset is very uncertain, as there are many types of offsets now available from many different sources. The Climate Trust continually seeks to cover price risk through strict criteria applied to a diverse offset portfolio of high-quality projects which is continually growing. Stay tuned…

Quality control is an important issue for carbon offsets. In order to be sure the offset is providing a true benefit to the environment, every offset project must be held to the highest quality standards.

High quality offset projects:

• Provide new or additional benefits: A high quality offset project is one that would not have happened without the specific funding provided by the purchase of carbon offsets.

• Are rigorously measured and verified: The benefits of the offset project must be measured and verified by an independent third party over the entire length of the project.

• Have lasting benefits: The effects of the offset project must be long-lasting, not temporary.

Learn more about how we maintain the highest quality standards on all our projects.

We do this through two steps:  First, before receiving our support, projects must undertake rigorous, third-party validation of the baseline case against which performance is measured, as well as of the project case for performance above and beyond that baseline.  Second, after a project or program has begun operating under our contract, it is required to undergoe ongoing third-party monitoring and verification of actual performance and delivery of the offsets, usually on an annual basis.

No. Offsets, by definition, cancel out emissions. Therefore, while your activities, such as driving, may still result in carbon dioxide emissions, by purchasing offsets via CarbonCounter.org, overall carbon dioxide emissions are reduced.