NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Robert Nasi and Pham Thu Thuy

To achieve the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, we must drastically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, decreasing our reliance on coal, oil and gas by 90%. Not all sectors of the economy can be decarbonized fully or quickly, however. In those cases, scientifically sound, equitable and transparent forest carbon offset programs can play a role – while also providing other benefits.

From retail chains and tech firms to individual travelers, a growing number of companies and individuals seeking to shrink their carbon footprints are turning to offsets: mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in one place by increasing carbon storage or avoiding emissions in another.

Photo courtesy of Ryk Porras.