Achieving Net Zero carbon emissions: a review of the evidence behind carbon offsetting

This report has reviewed the evidence behind carbon offsetting looking at a wide range of different offsetting approaches which could be used in the UK.

From:
Environment Agency and Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Research and Development Programme
Published
1 March 2021
Last updated
8 June 2021 — See all updates
Category:
Environmental management and sustainability
Topics:
Adaptation, Asset performance, Behavioural change, Big data, Carbon, Ecosystem service benefits, Health, safety and wellbeing, Natural capital, Sustainability
Project status:
Completed
Project code:
FRS19212
Date of completion:
7 May 2021

Documents

Achieving net zero - a review of the evidence behind carbon offsetting - summary (114KB) PDF

Cyflawni sero-net – adolygiad o’r dystiolaeth y tu ôl i ddulliau posib ar gyfer cyfrannu at niwtraleiddio carbon (130KB) PDF

Achieving net zero - a review of the evidence behind carbon offsetting - report (1.5MB) PDF

Achieving net zero - a review of the evidence behind carbon offsetting - infographic (998KB) PDF

Offsetting our residual CO2 emissions - a review of carbon reducation approaches to acheive Net Zero by 2030 webinar

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email: enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

The UK has set out in law the target of achieving Net Zero by 2050. To achieve this, the annual emission rates will need to be cut by over 260 MtCO2e (Metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent). This is from 2019 levels to less than 90 MtCO2e in 2050 (Committee on Climate Change, 2019a).

The Environment Agency’s own Net Zero target, set for 2030, which includes reducing emissions by 45%, and addressing remaining emissions using best practice carbon offsetting techniques.

Whilst approaches to reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the UK are relatively well documented and understood, those which enable offsetting of residual emissions have been less thoroughly explored.

We reviewed the evidence behind 17 different carbon offsetting approaches which included mainly nature based solutions and a smaller number of built environment approaches. Each was reviewed against the following criteria:

  • Readiness for implementation
  • Speed and scale
  • Permanence (impact is not reversed)
  • Leakage (reduction in emissions in one area leads to increase in another)
  • Additionality (reductions that would not have happened otherwise)
  • Co-benefits
  • Confidence in the science
  • Measuring impact
  • Risks and barriers
  • Costs

This review will help us understand which carbon offsetting approaches we may want to focus on the most when developing our offsetting strategy.

Published 1 March 2021
Last updated 8 June 2021 + show all updates

  1. Welsh research summary added to the documents section

  2. Evidence review and supporting documents published. Project marked as complete.

  3. First published.

Contents