Carbon offsetting is when an organisation or an individual purchases credits which go towards balancing there carbon footprint. The term used to describe the situation whereby the number of credits is equal to the size of the carbon footprint is carbon neutral. The revenue generated from the purchase of credits is usually invested into projects which reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere or reduce greenhouse gases.

There are many ways offsetting can help the environment

• Offsetting enables you to reduce the total amount of emissions to zero.
• help to raise awareness regarding the climate and the how we can deal with it.
• Carbon offsetting provides injections of cash in to promoting and developing low carbon technologies
• Off Setting helps raise funds which can be put towards promoting a low carbon world
• Provide social and economic benefits to the poorer communities in the world.
• Educate people and enhance there understanding. Allow people to take responsibility for there impact on the environment

Offsetting is like a boat that is sinking due to holes in it. Every time we do something negative towards the environment, we are effectively creating another hole in or jumping out the boat and leaving the others in the boat to deal with the problem that wont go away.  We all must not sit back and let the boat sink. We can try and plug the holes and bail out the water but this is not the permanent  solution to the problem, we need to try and stop doing things to the boat that are causing the holes and encourage the permanent fix of the problems.

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