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Can I really become completely climate neutral?

Yes, we definitely think that you can call yourself climate neutral!

If you want to make it a little more complicated, for companies there are standards that regulate the requirements for what is considered being climate-neutral (PAS 2060 and ISO 14021), but in the case of individuals, there are no similar standards that we know of. This means that there may be different opinions of what it takes for a person to be considered climate neutral.

In theory climate neutrality is when the difference between the emissions you cause and the emissions that you prevent from reaching the atmosphere is zero. The challenge with this is partly to calculate the exact carbon footprint for an individual, and also to find ways to reliably prevent emissions from reaching the atmosphere or remove emissions from the atmosphere.

When it comes to measuring your own climate footprint, there are very advanced methods to do this. We have chosen a simple estimate to make it as easy as possible for you to start doing something about climate change without having to spend a lot of time in carbon dioxide calculators where you need to enter exact air mileage, kWh consumption etc.

There are many advanced calculators freely available on the internet that provide more accurate estimates such as http://footprint.wwf.org.uk and http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx. What all calculators have in common is that they are based on estimates and generalizations, which in turn means that the value you get is approximate. For example, the calculators does not take into account if you have built a new house last year and thus caused large emissions in the form of building materials, or if you only use very fuel efficient airplanes when you fly. The calculators also do not take into account the exact emissions caused by the manufacture of the batteries for your electric car nor if your car has been bought new or second hand, if you charge it with renewable energy at home and with fossil based energy at work. The reason is that such a calculator would be extremely complex and time consuming to use – and yet not perfect.

So are there measurable and good ways to remove emissions from the atmosphere or measurable and good ways to prevent emissions to be released in the atmosphere? Yes there are! We have chosen to invest in CDM and Gold Standard-certified climate projects, and you can read more om how that works here: Does climate offsetting really make a difference?.

Is it then impossible to consider one self as climate neutral since you cannot calculate your exact carbon footprint? Well, we believe it’s still possible. To ensure that our users are climate neutral, as far as we can, our profiles are designed to compensate for more than twice as much as the overall impact of your lifestyle while doing everything we can to ensure the reliability of the projects. This way there is a buffer that compensates for miscalculations of your emissions and for risks in the projects we invest in. With a two-fold compensation, we should be on the safe side, and most likely even be climate-positive.

So to answer the question again, yes, we definitely think that you can call yourself climate neutral!

If you want to know more, go to GoClimate.org

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Meat eater’s non-dogmatic guide to becoming more vegetarian

If you are a meat eater and you want to become more of a vegetarian (or at least eat more plant stuff and less meat stuff), and you kind of struggle with that because meat tastes good and you’re used to eating it, then this guide is for you! A short pragmatic guide for the aspirational vegetarian who still wants to enjoy good food.

I’ve been on this journey (and struggling, I admit) for about a year and half. I’m nowhere near full vegetarian, but I’ve cut down meat consumption by more than half, and will keep trying to reduce it. The nice thing (and a bit of a surprise) is that it doesn’t feel like a personal sacrifice at all!

Anyway here are some tips, if you want to join in. Continue reading “Meat eater’s non-dogmatic guide to becoming more vegetarian”

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Second Gold Standard + CDM Projekt investment: Thai Solar

Our second both Gold Standard and CDM certified project investment has been made. This time we bought another 1000 tonnes CO2. Thank you for making this possible! Together we are speeding up the transformation towards a sustainable world!

The Thailand national electricity grid provides electricity to households across Thailand. Over 90% of electricity consumed in Thailand’s grid is supplied by fossil fuel fired power plants which emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Solar Power Company Limited has constructed a solar photovoltaic plant that supplies clean renewable electricity to the Thailand grid.

Read more about the project at the UN-site (CDM): http://cdm.unfccc.int/Projects/DB/Germanischer1354875235.84/view

More about this project on the Gold Standard Registry: https://registry.goldstandard.org/projects/details/1319

Here is also our certificate from the investment: Certifikat_GS_2017 GoClimate

And the invoice from the investment: GoClimate F2663 kvitto

More images from the project:

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Is train a feasible alternative to flying?

As I write this I’m sitting on a train headed back to Sweden, pondering the result of a year’s experimentation with travelling by train instead of flying. Is this an effective way to reduce my carbon footprint? The jury is in! Read on.

One common rallying cry among climate advocates is to fly less (or ideally not at all). I consider myself a climate advocate (here’s my entry ticket), but I’m also a pragmatist. I’ve worked enough with behavioural change to know that it’s unrealistic to expect many people to change their habits unless there is a convenient and compelling alternative. For example, Spotify killed music pirating, not by attacking pirate sites, but by providing a better and more convenient alternative.

So what are the alternatives to flying, if you want to get from A to B?

  • Option A: Don’t go. Stay at A. This option won’t fly (pun intended) with most people. There’s a reason why they want to go from A to B, and only a small number of people will be willing to sacrifice that (kudos to those people though!).
  • Option B: Walk or bicycle. Not feasible. A distance that is long enough to take a flight is usually waaay too long for a walk or bicycle ride, unless you are an enthusiast with LOTS of time on your hands.
  • Option C: Car. This makes sense only if you travel in a group, or if you drive an electric car. If you drive alone in a fuel car, the climate impact is about the same as flying, just takes longer and is more dangerous and clogs up the road.
  • Option D: Bus. I haven’t found any long-distance bus options  to the places I go. Might be more feasible in other countries than mine.
  • Option E: Train. Is train a feasible alternative? Definitely climate friendly, but what about price, convenience, reliability, and time? Read on!

Continue reading “Is train a feasible alternative to flying?”

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First both Gold Standard and CDM certified investment: Dak Pone Hydro Power

Our first both Gold Standard and CDM certified project investment has been made. This time we bought 1000 tonnes CO2. Thank you everyone for making this possible!

By providing the surrounding community with reliable and sustainable energy, the Dak Pone Hydro project displaces diesel generators and wood-fired heating and lighting, which leads to better indoor/outdoor air quality and reduces respiratory and eye diseases. Sustainable development is also supported through the construction of irrigation canals, bridges, roads and a local school.

More about this project from the UN-site: https://cdm.unfccc.int/Projects/DB/KEMCO1307604296.67/view

More about this project on the Gold Standard Registry: https://registry.goldstandard.org/projects/details/206

More on the Gold Standard page: https://www.goldstandard.org/projects/clean-hydropower-dak-pone-vietnam

Our Certificate for the transaction: transactionCH24327

View our invoice from doing the investment: Faktura 613 GoClimate

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Ullunkal Hydro Power Project and more

We have now made another investment with the help of our users, this time in the Ullunkal Hydro Power Project (100 tonnes CO2 – CDM-standard), Inner Mongolia Yihewusu Wind Power (100 tonnes CO2 – CDM-standard) and Salto Pilao Hydropower Plan (100 tonnes CO2 – VCS-standard) with the help from our our friends behind the Carbon Story plattform.

Carbon Story was a plattform for buying carbon offsets for individuals and companies, not unlike our own service. Unfortunately Carbon Story closed down this July due to not having reached a turnover that covered their costs. Before it closed, we were offered to invest in 300 tonnes of CO2 offsets, which we happily accepted.

With this we have also had the opportunity to reach out to all the users of Carbon Story and telling them about GoClimate. This took us to 50 active users from 6 different countries, so thank you Carbon Story and welcome to our community friends!

You can see our certificate for this investment here:  https://www.goclimate.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/GoClimate-Neutral-certificate-PA-4cc6e53d5a35e06-.pdf

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New investment in Biomass project

Another investment has been made by our community, this time offsetting 75 tonnes of CO2. Thank you everybody!

The investment was made in a biomass project. This is not the cheapest type of investment among CDM-projects, but it at least has a medium likelihood of being additional (according to this report: https://ec.europa.eu/clima/sites/clima/files/ets/docs/clean_dev_mechanism_en.pdf ). Many other types of CDM-projects are unfortunately less likely to be additional.

Since last time we have learnt a bit about climate project investment and are now actively looking for other alternatives to CDM-project, such as Gold Standard or Fair Trade. We will keep you informed as our search for the most climate effective investments continue.

You can read more about the investment here: https://offset.climateneutralnow.org/6-mw-renewable-energy-generation-project-by-varam-power-projects-in-india-697-

And more details can be found here: http://cdm.unfccc.int/Projects/DB/DNV-CUK1160567400.19/view

View our certificate from investing in this project: https://www.goclimate.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/1491461_2267.pdf

View our invoice from doing the investment: https://www.goclimate.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/invoice_1491461_2267.pdf

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Carbon Offset Investment in Wind Power Project in Tamilnadu, India

With our latest offset investment we have managed to offset 90 tons of CO2! Yay! Thank you everyone!

This time the investment is in a Wind Power Project in Tamilnadu, India. The total capacity of this project is 4.35 MW generated from four wind mills. By using this kind of renewable energy instead of fossil fuel generated energy climate change hopefully will slow down somewhat.

Read more about the project here: https://offset.climateneutralnow.org/bundled-grid-connected-wind-power-project-from-tamilnadu-india-3493-

More details of the project can be found here: https://cdm.unfccc.int/filestorage/A/U/K/AUK68FMXH1EWQBRDZI3T4N7YGSP0VO/AAT%20PDD.pdf?t=SmV8b3JnN3I0fDB280hdUbAxNPxPpJ1zgpSv

View our certificate from investing in this project: https://www.goclimate.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/1491461_2116.pdf

View our invoice from doing the investment: https://www.goclimate.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/invoice_1491461_2116.pdf