CarbonCrop’s Nick Butcher and Jo Blundell sat down with Ben Moore from Business Desk.
Here’s a quick summary of the article - read it in full here.
1 The type of offset matters - choose removals
There is much debate around the effectiveness of carbon offsetting, but the actual impact on the environment comes down to the type of offset you choose. To avoid a “veil of virtue” (the Climate Change Commission chair, Rod Carr), choose removal carbon offsets instead of reduction offsets. Removal offsets actually remove carbon already in the atmosphere and have a real and immediate impact on the environment.
2 Distraction or essential to reach net-zero? The market for carbon offsetting is growing and there are differing opinions on whether it is a distraction or an essential incentive to reach net zero emissions. Large-scale carbon removal is necessary to combat climate change, and we can’t reach net-zero without them.
3 ETS now accessible for more native forests
It is difficult to measure complex native forests manually, which has led to many of them being left out of the New Zealand emissions trading scheme (NZ ETS). The cost of trying to access the carbon offset market keeps it out of reach for many landowners, but CarbonCrop's technology makes it more affordable and efficient to measure and account for carbon sequestration in native forests.
4 AI's got your back
Customers are protected from unnecessary risk with CarbonCrop’s technology. For example detecting areas of forest that have been cleared but not declared saves exposure to large fines. The same technology also protects carbon offset buyers through high levels of transparency, allowing for easy tracing, and preventing double dipping.
Native forest [is] more complex and therefore [takes] more time and, crucially, more money to maintain – CarbonCrop [wants] to help landowners access that money.
- Ben Moore, Business Desk