Here’s why we’re all in on offsets

If you’re reading this, you most likely care about the climate. After all, the majority of the world sees global warming as a threat to their own lives, not to mention to all other living beings and future generations. Millions of us, across the planet, are ready to take action. The question is how?

Carbon offsets are a crucial part of the solution. We all produce carbon dioxide every day. It’s simply unavoidable. Offsets remove or prevent the same amount of emissions elsewhere by financing effective climate projects that push forward tech solutions and protect nature. That’s how offsets drive short-term emission reductions as well as long-term systemic change.

But first, let's rewind

To understand why offsets are so powerful, let’s recap how we got into this mess in the first place.

The climate crisis is the result of centuries of extractive and unsustainable business practices, that are now baked into our global systems. Those systems are flawed, and we’re only beginning to fully understand how.

You see, today environmental costs aren’t reflected in the prices of the goods you buy. Just as importantly, ecological benefits businesses create through sustainable practices aren’t reflected in their earnings either. This means there’s no economic incentive to do the right thing. Take a moment to think about that. It’s a pretty bad situation to be in, and it’s reinforced throughout our economy, at nearly every level.

When problems are this pervasive, the only way to solve them is to rewire the systems entirely. That’s what carbon offsets do: They reward people for doing the right thing by making sustainable choices economically viable. That’s the true transformative power that offsets have — and why they're at the heart of our climate solution.

What does this look like?

In Panama, Klima works with local partners on sustainable agroforestry projects that improve biodiversity and provide liveable incomes to local communities. Instead of endless rows of uniform crops, farmers plant cocoa trees and native shade trees together. What grows is a mixed forest that creates diverse microclimates, wildlife corridors, and resilient ecosystems. Without funding from carbon offsets, this project would be only an idealistic daydream, not a growing, thriving, sustainable business.

On a larger scale, let’s look at Mauritania, where carbon offsets have reshaped the way people get their electricity. Faced with a growing population, lack of finances, and unequal access to power, Mauritania’s government could have turned to cheap coal. After all, everyone deserves access to electricity, light, and the advantages of modern life. 

Instead, our partners in Mauritania worked with the community and government to build the region's largest solar power facility — expanding access to electricity sustainably and preventing new fossil fuel infrastructure from taking root. Even better, they’ve partnered with local universities to pass on knowledge to the next generation and make green solutions easier to build in the future. 

These are the kinds of projects that simply wouldn’t be possible within the purely extractive economic system that got us here in the first place. With carbon offsets, we can fuel solutions like these and start rewiring that system.

Every action matters  

To solve the climate crisis, we need sustained, multilayered, effective action from all sides. Business, government, and civil society all have a part to play — and if you’re a lawmaker or business tycoon, then please get on board and push for fast, wide-reaching, structural change now. 

But the rest of us must play our part too. Offsetting your carbon footprint and taking it off the planet is an easy and effective way to start: Live carbon neutral today and invest in a better system for tomorrow.

Join us in the fight against climate change, right here, right now. Download Klima from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and see your impact grow day after day.