The Library2 of 8
Carbon removal and carbon offsets: what is the difference?
A carbon offset is a credit that a company buys to balance some of its own emissions. Carbon removal is one kind of activity that can stand behind a credit: it takes carbon dioxide out of the air. Many offsets do not come from removal at all, but from avoiding emissions that might otherwise have happened.
What are avoidance credits?
Avoidance credits pay for emissions that did not happen: a forest left standing, a cleaner cookstove, a methane leak plugged. They can do real good, but they do not lower the amount of carbon dioxide already in the air, and judging what would have happened without the project is hard.
Why does the difference matter for net zero?
Net zero means that whatever greenhouse gases are still released are balanced by the same amount taken out. Only removal takes carbon out. That is why the Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned Carbon Offsetting, revised in 2024, urge offtakers to shift over time towards removals, and towards removals with durable storage.
How can an offtaker tell if a credit is credible?
Ask a few plain questions of any credit, removal or not:
- Is the credit additional: would the carbon benefit have happened anyway?
- Is the credit measured and checked by someone independent?
- How durable is the storage, and who is responsible if the carbon comes back?
- Is each tonne counted once, and retired once?
Standards such as the Core Carbon Principles of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market set out tests of this kind.
Where MOTHER Carbon fits
MOTHER Carbon begins on the removal side: projects that take carbon dioxide out of the air and keep it out, with every tonne measured, checked and recorded.
For offtakers
Make sure the removal you buy gets built
One page that lets the projects you buy from be financed and built. Your price, volumes and rights stay as agreed.