Climate compensation

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Climate compensation is an instrument for climate protection , which serves to offset greenhouse gas emissions . The compensation can be carried out by saving greenhouse gases elsewhere or by storing CO 2 in carbon sinks .

Climate compensations are particularly useful if they replace emissions that are difficult or costly to avoid by financing cheaper measures. However, emissions avoidance is often seen as a better instrument for climate protection than climate compensation .

functionality

How the offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions works

For the atmosphere of our planet, it is not important where on earth greenhouse gases are emitted. For the global climate, it is also irrelevant where CO 2 is saved. The basic idea behind offsetting is to prevent a certain amount of greenhouse gas emissions that cannot be avoided in one place in the world and in another.

Climate protection projects serve this purpose . These are mostly projects that avoid the emission of climate-relevant gases, for example methane avoidance systems or wind turbines . It can also be about sink projects that permanently remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and store them in carbon sinks , for example through afforestation . Individuals or companies that want to offset their own emissions record these and give money for such projects. As a result, the amount of greenhouse gases saved can be assigned once, thus increasing the need for climate protection projects.

The transfer of the compensation payment to the climate protection project is controlled with so-called certificates . The possession of a certificate stands for a certain amount (usually one ton) of CO 2 that is saved by a project. First of all, the operator of such a project receives the certificates and can sell them, usually to dealers or compensation service providers. Those who give money for a climate protection project acquire such certificates. The advantage of this principle is that emissions are saved where it can be implemented in the most economical way.

However, it must be ensured that a project is only implemented because it receives the additional funding from the compensation mechanism. The technical term for this essential criterion is the additionality of the emission reductions. In addition, the emission reduction must be permanent ( durability , permanence problem ). This problem is addressed by only temporarily valid certificates, which have to be acquired again and again, or by more compensation measures.

Climate compensation can be carried out by both companies and private individuals.

Certification and certificate trading

Currently, the trade takes place with the certificates on two levels, the one at the state level on so-called commitment markets as part of the Kyoto Protocol and the other on the voluntary market ( Voluntary Market ) . The latter is currently experiencing an enormous boom. Independent institutions check the benefits and quality of the projects and certify them. The two most widespread standards for this are the “Verified Carbon Standard” (VCS for short) and the “Gold Standard”. Both meet the criteria and requirements required by the Kyoto Protocol.

  • The most widely used is the Verified Carbon Standard ( VCS , until 2011 Voluntary Carbon Standard ). In addition to the fact that projects actually have a climate-protective effect, the projects must meet additional criteria with regard to age and social benefits.
  • The world's strictest certification standard is the Gold Standard. Here too, in addition to the additionality of the climate protection projects, numerous other criteria must be met that are intended to ensure sustainable development in the countries in which the projects are implemented. The Gold Standard certifies both climate protection projects that lead to emission reductions traded on mandatory markets (see CDM Gold Standard ) and those for voluntary markets.

Voluntary compensation can take place on both voluntary and mandatory markets. Conversely, however, no compensation can be made on a voluntary market in order to fulfill obligations under the Kyoto Protocol. The state-regulated market is tied to exchanges (in Germany the European Energy Exchange (EEX) in Leipzig).

In the voluntary market, certificates are transferred over the counter, usually via a compensation service provider as a trader. It is important that CO 2 certificates are certified by recognized institutions, for example VCS, Gold Standard, BUND , CarbonFix, CCB Standards, DFG-Energy and others. Only then can it be guaranteed that the certificates actually come from effective climate protection projects and are not sold multiple times. The certificates transferred in this way are then permanently decommissioned. The British company Markit maintains a worldwide database (environmental registry) in which the certificates sold can be checked for decommissioning.

A distinction is made between ex-ante and ex-post certificates:

  • Ex-ante certificates contain future emission reductions. Ex-ante certificates make it possible to finance climate protection projects right from the start.
  • Ex-post certificates include emission reductions that have already taken place. Compared to ex-ante certificates, you avoid the risk of incorrect forecasts about future emission reductions. The provider of an ex-post project must make an advance financial payment.

Compensation service provider

Various organizations such as First Climate, Primaklima, atmosfair , South Pole Group myclimate , Klima-Kollekte or natureOffice operate as service providers on the voluntary market and offer companies, services, products or events neutral. Above all, they focus on compensating for individual activities that are particularly harmful to the climate, such as flights. Products whose emissions have been fully offset are often referred to as “climate neutral” or “climate friendly”.

With a few exceptions, the compensation service is provided in international projects. To meet the demand for national certificates, an offer was created with the MoorFutures. MoorFutures are regional CO 2 certificates that are generated by the rewetting of selected moors in Germany. In addition to climate neutrality, this creates added value for the environment and nature.

The “CO 2 -neutral website” initiative offers emissions compensation for websites and their users. A basic idea everywhere is that by bundling the offsets, the amounts of money can be used as effectively as possible for climate protection projects. Another activity that is particularly popular in German-speaking countries is the possibility of producing “climate-neutral” print media.

The German association TheCompensators * takes a different approach, recommending its donors to offset their total emissions straight away in order to reduce emissions really effectively. He takes part in the EU emissions trading system , buys up certificates there and shuts them down. This will reduce the issuing volume permitted to participants in the EU. As part of the reform of the European emissions trading system in February 2018, TheCompensators * association temporarily stopped the deletion of emissions certificates.

Criticisms in practice

In the social discourse, climate compensation is sometimes referred to as a form of indulgences . This criticism applies above all to compensation projects that have no effective effects. One reason for this can be high administrative costs or controversial calculation methods. The criticism of the indulgence trade also applies to providers and consumers who use voluntary compensation measures as a substitute for possible changes in behavior. The Federal Environment Agency generally classifies emissions avoidance as having priority over offsetting.

In order to counter the accusation of “climate indulgence”, many providers attach importance to offering their customers and donors advice with the aim of avoiding or reducing CO 2 emissions before climate compensation is necessary.

The climate conferences are struggling to prevent the same savings from being credited to both the paying state and the state in which they are implemented.

literature

  • Stephan Wolters, Stella Schaller, Markus Götz: Voluntary CO 2 compensation through climate protection projects . Ed .: Federal Environment Agency. July 2018 ( Umweltbundesamt.de ).
  • Franz Josef Radermacher : The Billion Joker. How Germany and Europe can revolutionize global climate protection. 2018 .
  • Stephan Wolters u. a .: Updated analysis of the German market for voluntary offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions (=  Climate Change . No. 02/2015 ). Federal Environment Agency, Dessau-Rosslau 2015 ( umweltbundesamt.de [PDF; 3.1 MB ]).
  • Wolfgang Strasdas, Stefan Gössling, Heike Dickhut: Greenhouse gas compensation provider in Germany . August 2010, p. 16 ( atmosfair.de [PDF; 2.2 MB ] Study by the HNE Eberswalde on behalf of the Federation of German Consumer Organizations).
  • German Emissions Trading Authority [DeHSt] in the Federal Environment Agency (Hrsg.): Guide to the voluntary compensation of greenhouse gas emissions . October 2008 ( Umweltbundesamt.de [PDF; 693 kB ]).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ralph O. Harthan: Position paper climate compensation . Ed .: Öko-Institut eV April 29, 2010 ( oeko.de [PDF]).
  2. ↑ Avoidance takes precedence over compensation. In: Quality features of voluntary compensation ( memento of the original from April 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the German Emissions Trading Authority (viewed on October 18, 2012) and DeHSt 2008, Chap. 2.2. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dehst.de
  3. ↑ a b Umweltbundesamt (Ed.): Analysis and evaluation of forest projects and corresponding standards for the voluntary compensation of greenhouse gas emissions - short version . December 2010 ( Umweltbundesamt.de [PDF]).
  4. ↑ Climate: Why compensation could be the salvation. In: Murmann Magazin. December 3, 2018, accessed on January 18, 2019 (German).
  5. ↑ vcs.org
  6. ↑ Klimalexikon - Gold Standard ( Memento of January 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) - Declaration of the certification standard "Gold Standard"
  7. ↑ adelphi: New opportunities for national climate protection projects in the voluntary carbon market , 2015
  8. ↑ Moor Futures
  9. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation: BfN-Skripten 350 (PDF), May 2013.
  10. ↑ CO 2 neutral website
  11. ↑ TheCompensators *
  12. ↑ Reform of the EU emissions trading system: Council approves new rules for the period 2021-2030 - Consilium. Retrieved June 25, 2019 .
  13. ↑ TheCompensators * »Deletion of emission certificates temporarily stopped. Retrieved June 25, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Climate-neutral travel: selling indulgences for a clear conscience . Stuttgarter-zeitung.de. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
  15. ↑ FAZ.net: Climate donation - One click is not enough from December 14, 2009
  16. ↑ Climate indulgence trade: The deal with a guilty conscience - knowledge . Stern.de. March 12, 2007. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
  17. ↑ Ansgar Kortenjann: Drain for exhaust gas - self-disclosure or negative report ? Economic aspects of morality and voluntariness in climate protection . In: Dirk Loerwald, Maik Wiesweg, Andreas Zoerner (eds.): Economics and the environment . Springer, 2008, ISBN 978-3-531-91057-4 , pp. 37, 48 .
  18. ↑ DeHSt 2008, Chapter 2.2
  19. ↑ Armin Grunwald : Against the privatization of sustainability - Why ecologically correct consumption cannot save the environment . In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society . tape 19 , no. 3 , October 2010, doi : 10.14512 / gaia.19.3.6 . See also: Michael Bilharz, Vera Fricke, Ulf Schrader: Against the trivialization of consumer responsibility . In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society . tape 20 , no. 1 , March 2011, doi : 10.14512 / gaia.19.3.6 (the authors see Grunwald with his criticism of the sale of indulgences in the mainstream).
  20. ↑ Stephan Wolters, Stella Schaller, Markus Götz: Voluntary CO 2 compensation through climate protection projects . Ed .: Federal Environment Agency. July 2018 ( Umweltbundesamt.de ).
  21. ↑ Bernhard Pötter: The business with a bad conscience is booming . In: The daily newspaper: taz . February 11, 2019, ISSN  0931-9085 , p. 8 ( taz.de [accessed on February 11, 2019]).