What is the difference between carbon offsets, carbon storage, and carbon credits?
Carbon storage occurs when a natural process, such as grass growth, increases the amount of carbon stored in the soil each year. A carbon offset refers to a land use practice that simply reduces emissions of carbon dioxide each year. The “offset” is generated by a land use practice that stores carbon or one that, compared to the current land use, simply leads to lower carbon dioxide emissions from the soil. This difference can occur by shifting the landscape from emitting more carbon dioxide than is stored to one that either has a lower net emission of carbon dioxide or stores more carbon dioxide than it emits. Carbon credits are what greenhouse gas-emitting companies purchase to offset their excess emissions.
