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Offsetting our carbon footprint: A way to make every day Earth Day
Carbon offset can be profitable for companies that invest in it.
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The technology for Indonesia to reach and exceed its climate action target is available. The financing can be sought. The crucial part is political will. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo should visibly demonstrate political will and aim determinedly, if not ruthlessly, for zero carbon emissions as his climate policy legacy. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
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ince 1970, the world has celebrated Earth Day every year on April 22 to showcase support and commitment to environmental protection. However, every day should be considered Earth Day, to preserve and protect health and livelihoods.
In early 2020, the world faced an unprecedented situation as the COVID-19 disease struck globally, placing most countries under lockdown and resulting in significant alteration of many government policies on energy demand, especially in the transport sector.
With many international borders closed and most people forced to stay home, transport patterns have been reduced whilst consumption patterns have changed. As a result, daily global CO2 emissions of the transport sector decreased by 17 percent by early April 2020 compared to the 2019 levels (Le Quéré, et al., 2020).
However, the abrupt decline in global CO2 emission during the pandemic might not continue, as most countries started opening their international borders at the end of 2021 and international travel has risen significantly in the beginning of 2022. In Indonesia, the government has issued a new policy to ease restrictions for domestic and international travel starting March 2022. A negative COVID-19 test result is no longer required if the traveler has received a vaccine-booster or a third anti-COVID-19 vaccination.
An International Energy Agency (IEA) study (2021) showed that the global energy-related CO2 emissions rose by 6 percent in 2021 to 36.3 billion tons (BT) as the world economy rebounded from the COVID-19 crises from the previous year, 2020.
Rapid carbon emissions will inevitably rebound and will keep increasing, without substantial government efforts to slow them. Hence, as individuals, we must take steps to mitigate the climate problem, one of which is to offset our carbon footprint.
Carbon offset broadly refers to a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that is used to compensate for emissions elsewhere. Carbon offset is considered a way to trade carbon. Organizations, companies and individuals can counteract their GHG emissions by purchasing carbon offsets.
