Carbon offsetting has gained attention in recent years as a way to lower individuals’ and business’ environmental footprint. To have the best chance of avoiding the catastrophic environmental impacts linked to a 2℃ increase in global temperatures, average global carbon emissions will need to fall well below the world’s current emissions output by 2050. To do so, all levels of society will need to do their part. Many governments, companies, residents and tourists have already made the commitment to reduce their carbon footprint through strategic plans and goal setting to meet their targets. Inspired by this, the UAE has set the ambitious goal of net zero emissions by 2050, signaling the need for destinations such as Sharjah to reduce emissions including those stemming from tourism. One of the ways to achieve this is through offsetting.
This article will explain what carbon offsetting is, how it works, and how projects from SeaGrass Grow, Trees for All and Justdiggit offer the chance to support local communities, contribute towards biodiversity restoration and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Tourism’s contribution to carbon emissions
Tourism contributes a sizable 8% of global carbon emissions originating from planes, plates and shopping sprees. However, the industry is beginning to rethink its pathway forward with a growing emphasis from consumers being placed on sustainable forms of tourism. This includes strategizing new, more sustainable activities, environmentally-friendly operational considerations and management processes and holistic strategies that prioritize local culture, heritage and economic prospects for host communities.
Transitioning to a more sustainable form of tourism also means keeping track of environmental impacts through carbon footprinting. A carbon footprint is a measurement that reveals the amount of CO2 emitted by an individual or entity over a set period of time. Once a baseline carbon footprint is determined by a carbon calculator, then reduction techniques such as offsetting can be used to manage your impact. While reducing your carbon footprint by traveling, conducting business and living more sustainably, offsetting the remainder of your impact can help quantify and amplify impact.
What is carbon offsetting and why should you offset your footprint?
Most reliable offsetting providers use carbon offset credits, which act as currency generated from certified climate-related projects. Carbon credits can be bought or sold by companies, organizations and individuals and are traded on global marketplaces. Each credit is equivalent to the reduction of one ton of carbon dioxide (CO2). Once purchased, credits are then used for projects that involve planting trees, seagrass and mangroves. Many other projects additionally provide support to energy transition initiatives that for instance, support communities with their transition to affordable electric cooking stoves and other renewable energy sources, moving them away from coal, fossil fuels and other carbon-intensive practices.
The following schemes demonstrate reputable, quantifiable, science-backed and user-friendly programs that have generated impact around the world. Read more about SeaGrass Grow, Trees for All and Justdiggit to determine which offsetting scheme is the right fit for you during your Sustain Sharjah Sustainability Journey.
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SeaGrass Grow
SeaGrass Grow uses The Ocean Foundation’s blue carbon calculator to offset carbon emissions through coastal habitat restoration projects around the world. Projects rehabilitate and conserve seagrass meadows, mangrove forests and salt marshes, helping to capture and sequester CO2, prevent storm surge, enhance the quality of marine habitats for local species and improve water quality.
Since its founding, Seagrass Grow has implemented projects in California, Florida, Alabama, Rhode Island, Fiji, Colombia, The Bahamas, Honduras and the United Arab Emirates. SeaGrass Grow is also leading two projects in Puerto Rico to repair damage caused to seagrass and mangrove forests caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria (2017) in Jobos Bay and Vieques. These projects have enhanced climate resilience to future hurricanes by providing a protective barrier for surrounding communities and stimulating economic opportunities for locals.
Why is seagrass effective?
Seagrass beds are considered by the scientific community to be one of the most diverse coastal marine habitats home to as many as 40,000 fish, and 50 million small invertebrates like crabs, oysters, and mussels in a single acre of grass. Seagrass habitats are also up to 35x more effective than Amazonian rainforests in their carbon uptake and storage abilities (in some cases even higher depending on the specific environment). Seagrasses occupy only 0.1% of the seafloor, but make up 11% of the carbon buried in the ocean, using their root systems to store and sequester carbon. Hence planting projects suffice as a good match for both offsetting and climate change adaptation measures.
Trees for All
Founded in 1999, Trees for All (previously Trees for Travel) began by supporting reforestation projects with a specific focus on the travel and tourism sector. Inspired by an increased interest in tree planting and offsetting projects from businesses and individuals, “Trees for Travel” became “Trees for All” in 2012, setting its intention of becoming a far reaching and inclusive offsetting program.
Since then, Trees for All has led projects that have helped restore the Kibale National Park in Uganda, one of East Africa’s most prominent rainforests, providing a significant boost to local biodiversity as a long-term carbon sink. Trees for All, which is headquartered in The Netherlands has also championed projects close to home, planting approximately 50,000 trees in the Hollandse Hout and restored dozens of hectares of degraded forest in the Bieslandse Bos and Waalse Bos on top of 190,000 trees in various locations throughout Limburg.
How does tree planting contribute to a greener, healthier planet?
Every year a net total of ten billion trees are lost, however, if two trees are planted a year for every person on the planet, these losses can be reduced. This is the logic behind the philosophy used by the Trees for All 1-2-tree program. Planting projects support SDG 1 No poverty by contributing to local livelihoods in 6 different countries, SDG 13 Climate Action by capturing 320 thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide and SDG 15 Life on Land by planting 5 million trees and restoring 32 forests. Trees for All aims to use their projects to not only capture carbon, but also support biodiversity and natural cooling to each of the project areas that the organization is present in.
Justdiggit
Justdiggit’s mission is to turn lands that have become degraded, dry and deserted into thriving green spaces throughout Kenya and Tanzania. Justdiggit’s projects are a part of the “Regreen Revolution”, which aspires to leverage nature-based solutions as a means of combating climate change and reaching all 350 million subsistence farmers in Africa.
With this approach Justdiggit has positively impacted the lives of 1 million people in Tanzania, having revived 4.5 million trees and “re-greened” an area of 55,000 hectares (135,907 acres). In Kenya, we have dug more than 200.000 waterbunds. We are still working in both countries. In Tanzania we are currently working in Dodoma and Singida with plans to expand to West Africa in the near future.
What are the climate benefits of restoration?
Plants function as the air conditioning of the earth, creating shaded areas, filling barren lands with vegetation and preventing climate impacts including global temperature rise.
Justdiggit focuses on simple, highly scalable and low-cost restoration techniques including rainwater harvesting and “Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR)”. This approach uses a simplified pruning technique to revive tree stumps back to life. These revived trees capture rainwater in turn increasing soil fertility, which yields more crops and generates more income for farmers. Re-greening projects also enhance carbon intake as greener land is better equipped to capture large amounts of CO2.
Conclusion
In sum, each one of these offsetting projects offer tourists, residents and businesses the opportunity to contribute to impactful climate efforts. By taking part in offsetting projects and setting goals to lower your environmental footprint, you’ll support a greener, healthier planet while combating the effects of climate change.