FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Carbon offsetting involves cancelling greenhouse gas emissions by contributing to CO2 sequestration projects, or avoiding future emissions. In this way, carbon neutrality can be achieved.

Carbon offsetting or carbon contributions involve a financier (companies, local authorities or individuals) supporting a project to reduce or sequester GHG emissions for which it is not directly responsible.

The carbon footprint is an indicator designed to measure the impact of an activity on the environment, and more specifically the greenhouse gas emissions associated with that activity. It can be applied to an individual (according to his or her lifestyle), a company (according to its activities) or a territory.

CO affects ecosystems by contributing to the acidification of air, soil and waterways. It also has an indirect influence on the greenhouse effect, contributing to the increase in the main greenhouse gases CO2 (carbon dioxide), CH4 (methane) and N2O (nitrous oxide).

This warming augurs an increase in the number of extreme climatic events, particularly droughts, rising sea levels and ocean acidification, with numerous negative consequences for human health and development.

Through concrete projects, for an ecological transition that aims to transform our energy production and consumption towards renewable and efficient models.

With the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, countries committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by 5% from 1990 levels over the period 2008 to 2012. This was the first legally binding agreement in this field. In addition to national emission reduction plans, the Protocol provides for complementary mechanisms to enable industrialized countries to meet their targets. This involved the creation of carbon markets, enabling industrialized countries to invest in projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions outside their own territory. This was the birth of the carbon offset mechanism.

At the same time, a voluntary carbon offsetting market has been set up to enable non-obligated companies and individuals to participate in financing environmental projects. In this way, citizens can participate in what is known as carbon offsetting.

Carbon neutrality is a scientific concept defined by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change): "A situation in which anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere are offset by anthropogenic removals over a given period". It therefore involves a balance between all man-made emissions and negative emissions, i.e. what can be absorbed by man-managed carbon sinks (forests, soils) or by any carbon capture and storage technologies.