Neil Braun

There is an oft-repeated idea that carbon offsets should be the last step taken to minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Although some accept it as conventional wisdom, there is little to support this premise.

The hierarchy of avoid, reduce, replace and offset is not a time-line; it is a statement of weighted priorities of how best to lower emissions and reduce our respective carbon footprints. Avoiding activities that cause emissions is the purest positive impact in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions anyone can achieve.

Yet avoiding all -- or even most - of these activities is impossible while sustaining and growing a global economy. Therefore, reducing such activities...

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