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A complete guide to sustainable finance and how to manage your finances to be more sustainable.

Your Guide to Sustainable Finance

Ines Gendre

After graduating in 2016 with a master’s degree in marketing, Ines began her career in project management. However she soon decided to turn towards writing, to bring her core competencies to the service of societal changes. First working as a freelance copywriter, she joined Greenly in early 2022 to help fight global warming.

Matthieu Vegreville

Matthieu is a 28 year-old graduate engineer from Ecole Polytechnique and Télecom Paris, with a background in data science at Withings. While there, he worked on watch activity detection algorithms, and developed a health study activity so that connected objects could be used to better monitor certain pathologies. He has long been involved in data science projects with his brother, who has the same training. Faced with the urgency of the climate crisis, he decided to put his know-how at the service of the environment. 

After seeking opportunities to put her various creative passions to good use, she joined Greenly in mid 2022 as SEO copywriter for the U.S. blog to provide her American perspective on the climate change issues we face today.

Stephanie Safdie - Greenly

Stephanie completed a bachelor's degree in English & Multimedia in 2020 at the University of Maryland College Park. She previously worked as a social media content video creator and freelance copywriter. After seeking opportunities to put her various creative passions to good use, she joined Greenly in mid 2022 as SEO copywriter for the U.S. blog to provide her American perspective on the climate change issues we face today. 

Kara joined the team at Greenly in 2023 as SEO copywriter for the UK market.

Kara Anderson - Greenly

Kara studied her bachelors of law at the University of Glasgow and her masters in international law at the University of Aberdeen, before looking for a more creative career path. She found this in advertising, working as a content manager in London. After a move to Paris in 2019 she decided to switch to freelance copywriting in order to scratch her creative itch. Kara joined the team at Greenly in 2023 as SEO copywriter for the UK market.  

Arnaud Delubac

Arnaud, 26 years old, trained as a designer and in digital communication at INSEEC before joining the Master Entrepreunariat at ESSEC-CentraleSupélec. Passionate about social media since his teenage years, he has created some of the biggest Twitter communities in France before joining the digital communication team of the Prime Minister’s office in Matignon. It was at the Secretaries of State for Digital, Mounir Mahjoubi and Cédric O, where Arnaud directly managed the team, that he developed a strong conviction for the need to use technology to bring awareness to the greatest causes of our time.

Alexis Normand

Alexis is a 37 year-old graduate of HEC and Sciences-Po. After his studies, he spent 2 years working in public policy consulting. He then spent 6 years at Withings, a leading company in connected objects. While there, he continued the companies operations in Boston, USA, and created the company’s health department. After the company was bought by Nokia, he joined the startup Embleema by working through Techstars, one of the best startup incubators in the United States, where he developed a taste for entrepreneurship. His return to France was an opportunity to put all his experience at the service of the environment, during a crucial moment in the climate crisis.

Justine Dumont

Justine a toujours été passionnée de lecture et d’écriture. En 2019, elle parvient justement à faire de sa passion son métier, en devenant rédactrice web indépendante. Motivée par ses engagements écologiques, elle rejoint l’équipe de Greenly en 2022 afin de mettre ses compétences au service de la cause environnementale. 

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US wildfires are anticipated to eradicate much of California's forestry reserves under the state's carbon offset system.

US Wildfires Destroy Carbon Offsets

<p id="">2022’s seasonal round of wildfires are blazing through hundreds of thousands of acres of forest, forcing the evacuations of thousands people from their homes, with these numbers increasing daily, according to <a href="https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/" id="">CalFire.gov</a>. As well as posing an obvious threat to infrastructure and human life, there’s a particularly concerning problem that these wildfires pose to California’s carbon offset system. Greenly explains what’s going on.&nbsp;</p><p id="">‍</p><figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type-image w-richtext-align-fullwidth" style="max-width:1280px" data-rt-type="image" data-rt-align="fullwidth" data-rt-max-width="1280px"><div id=""><img src="https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/6232f79b68d15d3d9b69c096/62fca8db3483bc4225057a2a_wildfires.jpg" loading="lazy" id="" width="auto" height="auto"></div></figure><p id="">‍</p><h2 id="">What’s going on in California? </h2><p id="">‍</p><h3 id="">Record-breaking wildfires</h3><p id="">A quick look at the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/california-fire-map/" id="">California Fire Map &amp; Tracker</a> can reveal how alarming the wildfire situation has become in America’s most populated state.&nbsp;</p><p id="">California has barely had time to recover, with last year’s wildfires burning <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-10/california-officials-offer-grim-outlook-for-2022-fire-season" id="">2.5 million acres</a> of land, and with this year likely to beat that record.&nbsp;</p><p id="">This round of wildfires is currently blazing through large portions of california’s “buffer pool” of trees, which was planted as part of the state’s carbon offset program, and a reserve which was supposed to last for 100 years.&nbsp;</p><p id="">But to understand what is really at stake, and what this “buffer pool” is, we first need to understand the concept of carbon credits, and how California’s carbon trading system works.&nbsp;</p><p id="">‍</p><h3 id="">What are carbon credits?&nbsp;</h3><p id=""><a href="https://www.greenly.earth/glossary/carbon-credit" id="">Carbon credits</a> are exchangeable certificates that allow a company the right to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide. One carbon credit represents one ton of carbon dioxide. These credits apply under different regulatory systems designed to offset corporate greenhouse gas emissions. Companies are granted a certain amount of credits corresponding to their activity, and they must purchase more credits to offset each ton of carbon that they emit beyond their limit.&nbsp;</p><p id="">Carbon credits are a necessary part of a company’s <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/whats-the-difference-between-carbon-neutral-and-net-zero" id="">carbon neutral or net zero </a>strategy.&nbsp;</p><p id="">Credits are obtained through various certified projects that involve the capturing of carbon emissions. Tree planting and forestry projects are examples of natural carbon capturing, through the tree’s natural ability to absorb CO2. 🌳</p><p id="">‍</p><h3 id="">What about California’s carbon offset system?&nbsp;</h3><p id="">Trees are an effective way to pull CO2 directly from the atmosphere, but the lesser-known weakness of trees is that all of the CO2 they store is released back into the atmosphere once the tree is cut down, burned, or killed through other means.&nbsp;</p><p id="">But if some trees end up dying, do the credits paid for in carbon offsetting projects still count? 🤔</p><p id="">This is exactly why California's offset system includes the concept of a “buffer pool”. The&nbsp; buffer pool compensates for the risk that some of these trees will inevitably be destroyed (through events such as wildfires, for example).&nbsp;</p><p id="">This buffer pool is like a form of insurance. <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d54d5526-6f56-4c01-8207-7fa7e532fa09?accessToken=zwAAAYJ87JhykdPVTVUmb1ZMAdOCB3-n5TL6CQ.MEYCIQDRa5ceJbY8m2vFqNDgbqWIQ9XNtRk6Pw6P6uFMnZpRmgIhAO4VyQK6dkQpZ7xE-svLz0bgS50qMvlDuVM6MPpefiZD&sharetype=gift&token=0432957e-d891-43cf-9513-38a7bd1129a2" id="">10-20% of funding</a> that goes towards these offsetting projects is directed towards the buffer pool, which essentially means that extra trees are planted. That way, if there are any acres of trees lost or destroyed, they can be accounted for by retiring credits from the trees in the buffer pool.&nbsp;</p><p id="">As long as there are enough trees remaining in the buffer pool, a company’s carbon credit purchase remains valid, as any tree destroyed is essentially insured for. The buffer program was designed to cover any risks (disease, wildfire, drought, that may destroy offsetting projects) over the next 100 years. However, unprecedented levels of wildfires have “depleted nearly one-fifth of the total buffer pool in less than a decade” according to a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2022.930426/full" id="">study</a> by the research group CarbonPlan.&nbsp;</p><p id="">At the rate these wildfires are burning, it is “incredibly unlikely that the program will be able to withstand the wildfires of the next 90 years”, says Oriana Chegwidden, a co-author of the CarbonPlan <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2022.930426/full" id="">study</a>.&nbsp;</p><p id="">‍</p><h2 id="">Does global warming actually start fires?‍</h2><p id="">Depending on where you’ve been spending your summers, you might feel like you’re about to burst into flames, but the connection between climate change and wildfires is a little more complicated than that.&nbsp;</p><p id="">‍</p><h3 id="">The compounding effects of climate change</h3><p id="">Even in 2022, we are already starting to see the effects of global warming carried out in real time. Wildfires around the world are blazing at unprecedented levels, largely due to the compounding factors of flammability, all due to climate change. According to the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-wildfires#:~:text=Multiple%20studies%20have%20found%20that,wildfire%20frequency%2C%20and%20burned%20area.&text=The%20wildfire%20season%20has%20lengthened,and%20drier%20soils%20and%20vegetation." id="">EPA</a>, “multiple studies have found that climate change has already led to an increase in wildfire season length, wildfire frequency, and burned area”.&nbsp;</p><p id="">‍</p><p id="">The main factors involved include&nbsp;</p><ul id=""><li id="">Warmer temperatures</li><li id="">Longer dry seasons</li><li id="">Dehydration of soils and plant life</li></ul><p id="">‍</p><p id="">As can be seen with the overall increase in seasonal <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-us-and-global-temperature" id="">US temperatures</a>, the spring seasons that are getting hotter earlier on each year imply that late-spring <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-snowpack" id="">snowpack</a> is melting sooner than ever. This means that the summer water supply is drying up faster, causing unusual drought conditions, early in the season, and allowing wildfires to spread exponentially faster.&nbsp;</p><p id="">The extension of the dry seasons brings about unprecedented droughts, and these droughts bring about water shortages and restrictions. Vegetation dries up, and drier flora allows better conditions for sparks to become wildfires.&nbsp;</p><p id="">This phenomenon is taking place all around the world, with extreme temperatures threatening plantlife, causing a plethora of problems, amongst them being the threat of wildfires.&nbsp;</p><p id="">Climate change is making wildfires even more likely. And if wildfires weren’t bad enough, they are also a major emitter of CO2, further contributing to climate change! 🥵 This concept is known as a <a href="https://www.albert.io/blog/positive-negative-feedback-loops-biology/" id="">positive feedback loop</a>. That is, when the side effect of a reaction leads to a further increase of that reaction.&nbsp;</p><p id="">There are many examples of positive feedback loops in environmental science. This is one of the major reasons why we need to get the climate under control as soon as possible, as the problems will be much more difficult to manage down the road!</p><p id="">‍</p><h2 id="">Is carbon offsetting the solution?&nbsp;</h2><p id="">Carbon offsetting is a necessary part of a company’s carbon neutral goal, but overreliance on these permissions can be deceiving. The ideal solution for corporations to combat climate change is by way of reducing their carbon emissions as much as physically possible, and only using offsetting projects as a final resort, for inevitable emissions that cannot be avoided.&nbsp;</p><p id="">However, some companies with enough capital think that it is more financially viable to simply pay their way out of emissions restrictions, by funding more and more offsetting projects instead of restructuring their operations to be more environmentally friendly.&nbsp;</p><p id="">This can be a grave strategy mistake for companies, however. A review by <a href="https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2022-full-report.pdf" id="">BP</a> confirmed that many <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-28/bp-data-show-world-embraced-fossil-fuels-again-after-covid-slump" id="">fossil fuels will be running out in 50 years</a> if used at our current rate, and legislation on emissions is only expected to become more strict. 🛢️ We can easily decipher that fossil fuel usage and unchecked carbon emissions are soon to be a thing of the past. Therefore, the best investment for a company is to start its decarbonization process as soon as possible.&nbsp;</p><p id="">‍<strong id="">Offsetting doesn’t guarantee carbon reduction&nbsp;</strong></p><p id="">According to the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/3f89c759-eb9a-4dfb-b768-d4af1ec5aa23" id="">Financial Times</a>, last year’s bout of wildfires in California burned through much of the offsetting projects bought by companies such as BP and Microsoft. With this recent example of summer wildfires burning through carbon offsetting projects statewide, and with the buffer pool soon to be wiped out, it’s clear that carbon offsets don’t guarantee a promise of making carbon disappear.&nbsp;</p><p id="">Carbon offsetting doesn’t fix climate change 😓</p><p id="">While useful in some circumstances, carbon offsetting alone does not offer a solution to climate change. First of all, the carbon offset market, valued at <a href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/sp/visual-guide-to-carbon-markets/" id="">$262B</a>, only offers a solution to large enough companies with the money to pay for the permission to damage the environment. This “solution” provides yet another way for companies with more capital to get even further ahead, crushing competition from smaller companies, and further dividing the economic gap.&nbsp;</p><p id="">Furthermore, carbon offsets are sometimes used as a tool for companies to boast about their sustainability, but are in fact just another <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/what-is-greenwashing-all-you-need-to-know-in-2022" id="">greenwashing</a> technique, while the company can continue to not reduce emissions elsewhere in their operations.&nbsp;</p><p id="">‍</p><h2 id="">What can you do to prevent forest fires? </h2><p id="">‍</p><h3 id="">Wildfire prevention&nbsp;</h3><p id="">The fires in California are making headlines, but these aren’t the only wildfires around the world. From France to Alaska, people are witnessing heat, drought, and fires like never before. For the people living in areas prone to wildfires, officials recommend clearing small brush from the landscape, which provides particularly effective fuel for fires to run on.&nbsp;</p><p id="">In California, <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/09/30/goats-being-used-to-prevent-wildfires-in-california/" id="">goats</a> have even been used as an effective tool to reduce certain excess vegetation and brush that works like kindling for fires. 🐐</p><p id="">These small gestures can help, but it doesn’t address the real problem of the destruction of the carbon credit buffer pool.&nbsp;</p><p id="">‍</p><h3 id="">Instead of using carbon offsetting projects, reduce your carbon as much as you can&nbsp;</h3><p id="">Carbon offsetting is a tempting solution for companies looking to satiate the <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/csr-meaning-all-you-need-to-know" id="">CSR</a> demands of increasingly conscious customers and employees, but it should be used with discretion. According to the <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050" id="">IEA</a>, in order to reach the 2050 goal of limiting climate increase to 1.5C as outlined in the Paris Agreement, we must incorporate other solutions other than offsetting alone.&nbsp;</p><p id="">According to the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition" id="">UN</a>, in order to reach these goals, Net-zero commitments must be backed, and this starts with “cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible”. The second step of reabsorbing remaining emissions through offsetting projects should only come after this first commitment has been reached.&nbsp;</p><p id="">‍</p><h3 id="">If offsetting is necessary, opt for other capture techniques</h3><p id="">Carbon offsetting projects can exist in many different forms. While some projects include reforestation initiatives as discussed in this article, there is also <strong id="">blue carbon</strong>, and <strong id="">direct carbon capture</strong> techniques&nbsp;</p><ul id=""><li id=""><a href="https://www.thebluecarboninitiative.org/" id=""><strong id="">Blue carbon</strong></a> is the carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems, which sequester large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. These ecosystems are much more efficient (than terrestrial forests) at absorbing carbon during photosynthesis, and retain large amounts of carbon in structures such as mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrass beds.&nbsp;</li></ul><ul id=""><li id="">Companies can also offset through <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/glossary/carbon-capture" id=""><strong id="">direct</strong> <strong id="">carbon capture</strong></a> techniques, which means that carbon is directly captured from a location in which carbon is produced, such as coal and gas power plants, or factories, by separating it from other gasses and byproducts of production. It is then compressed in a form fit for transport, and can be shipped, and then stored in a secure underground location.&nbsp;</li></ul><p id="">‍</p><h2 id="">The best way to fight fires is by fighting climate change</h2><p id="">Enterprises are also playing a major role in contributing to global <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/carbon-emissions-what-you-need-to-know" id="">carbon emissions</a>, and your company or organization can do its part! <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/en-us/demo" id="">‍</a></p><p id=""><a href="https://www.greenly.earth/en-us/demo" id="">Call our experts</a> and ask for your carbon footprint assessment, to get started on your emissions reduction journey today!</p><p id="">‍</p><p>‍</p><p id=""><strong id="">🚀 If you enjoyed reading this article, here are a few more :</strong></p><ul id=""><li id=""><a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/what-is-the-climate-disclosure-rule-proposed-by-the-sec" id="">What is the climate disclosure rule proposed by the SEC?</a></li><li id=""><a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/ipcc-report-2022-everything-you-need-to-know" id="">IPCC report 2022: everything you need to know</a></li><li id=""><a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/fast-fashion-can-a-balance-be-found-between-the-textile-industry-and-protecting-the-environment" id="">Fast Fashion: can a balance be found between the textile industry and protecting the environment?</a></li><li id=""><a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/how-to-implement-a-csr-approach-in-your-company" id="">How to implement a CSR approach in your company</a></li><li id=""><a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/ipcc-ar6-5-questions-to-understand-chapter-3" id="">IPCC AR6: 5 questions to understand Chapter 3</a></li></ul><p id="">‍</p>

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US Wildfires Destroy Carbon Offsets

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