Carbon offsets are rapidly becoming the next Big Green Thing, touted as a promising solution to global warming. For a relatively small price, they offer the chance to “zero out” emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). Methods include tree plantings, renewable energy generation, and other projects that trap carbon or don’t produce it in the first place. When such a balance is achieved, offset subscribers become “carbon neutral.”

In the simplest terms, a carbon offset plan works like this: Say, for example, that in driving to and from work each day your car emits one ton of CO2 a year. To negate this ton of CO2, you join a carbon offset program which charges you $200 per year to plant an acre of trees that will absorb the ton of CO2 from the air. In theory, your commute has now become carbon neutral.

It’s a reasonable idea, but we should state up front that as a company, Seventh Generation is not in favor of carbon offsets. It’s our view that while these programs certainly have some benefits, they don’t address the serious top-to-bottom systemic change that’s needed where energy and emissions are concerned. Instead, they simply grant a certain amount of guilt-free permission for their subscribers to continue to produce CO2 at a time when everyone needs to think of ways to prevent carbon emissions in the first place.

Our opinion is that in a rapidly warming world, a molecule of CO2 in the atmosphere is a molecule of CO2 in the atmosphere. The fact that it may have been compensated for elsewhere does not impact the contribution to climate change that the original molecule will make. Carbon offsets make the overall situation less worse, not better. And better is what we need. So, while we very much support planting trees and other carbon offset programs, we don’t favor a system that uses these programs as a way to continue business as usual somewhere else.

At best, we think carbon offset programs are a stop-gap solution, a bridge we can use to start ameliorating our impacts immediately while we engineer a new system in which clean technologies and energy efficiencies combine to keep the lights on without environmental damage. We see them as a temporary fix, not a permanent solution.

But not all carbon offset programs are created equal. The market remains unregulated, and there are lots of promises being made that aren’t always being kept. The result is a minefield for well-intentioned consumers. Earlier this year, an investigation into carbon offsets by the Financial Times found a fledgling industry beset by problems, including:

Clearly, this is a market experiencing some growing pains and until regulators step in to institute rules and create an honest playing field, it is caveat emptor. If you’re considering offsetting your carbon emissions, here are some questions to ask before you buy:

1) How much carbon dioxide does the project actually prevent?
2) Will it replace existing, planned, or badly needed sources of carbon emissions (like a coal-fired power plant in a region suffering electricity shortages) with low or zero emission sources (like a wind farm)?
3) How will the lower emissions that result from the project be measured? And how will they be reported to you? Look for offsets that are verified by a reputable third party.
4) Would the offset project(s) have occurred regardless of whether the program was opened to public contribution? If the answer is yes, then it does not represent a true offset.
5) Is the offset permanent? For example, solar ovens eventually fall into disrepair. Trees planted in fire-prone areas might be susceptible to burning or subject to logging. Seek offsets that contribute to lasting projects whose levels of carbon prevention or sequestration will remain active and stable for the longest possible time.
6) Will there be any increase in carbon emissions elsewhere because of the project? This is called “leakage.” For example, will supplying the materials for a new wind farm result in new emissions being created where the farm’s components are manufactured? Will servicing the farm require the use of petroleum-burning vehicles where none were needed before? Look for projects that create a minimum of new impacts.
7) Can the offset provider supply evidence that the same offsets are not being sold to multiple buyers? Some providers have been caught selling the same carbon credits to more than one person.

For a complete consumers guide to carbon offsets, including ratings of the leading plans, visit Clean Air Cool Planet at www.cleanair-coolplanet.org. For additional perspective on carbon offsets, read The Carbon Neutral Myth from Carbon Trade Watch. For more information about the Financial Times investigation, click here.