Frequently Asked Questions
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Who else is reducing and offsetting their global warming pollution?
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Who benefits from this transaction? Are you making a profit?
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How do you know how much carbon I'm responsible for? Is $99 a year the right amount?
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How can reducing carbon in another location reduce the impact of climate change where I live?
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Can't I just reduce my own carbon footprint, without offsetting?
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Isn't offsetting just like buying your way out of personal responsibility?
1. What is global warming and why is it a problem?
Climate change, also called global warming, is an urgent problem that can and must be solved. The problem is caused primarily by human activities that produce heat-trapping or greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, artificially warming the planet and thereby changing the climate. Serious consequences include dryer droughts, fiercer floods, and harsher hurricanes. Carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas or global warming pollutant, is released when fossil fuels such as oil, gas, or coal are burned in our vehicles, by power plants, and by industry. The good news is that there are plenty of cost-effective solutions that will create jobs, clean up our environment, and enhance national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil, thereby creating a safe and healthy future for our children.
See the Evangelical Climate Initiative's Resources page for more information.
2. What is an "offset"? How does this work?
An offset is a reduction in global warming pollution in some part of the economy to compensate for pollution caused in another part (like your household). It's like keeping your budget balanced—extra spending in one category can be "offset" by savings in another category. In this case, your contribution to global warming pollution can be offset by paying for pollution reduction somewhere else, for example by paying for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reforestation projects. These either prevent pollution that would otherwise have occurred, or soak up global warming pollution already in the atmosphere.
3. Who else is reducing and offsetting their global warming pollution?
Ultimately government action will be necessary to implement economy-wide reductions in global warming pollution through common-sense, market-based mechanisms. However, we don't need to wait for federal policy to change before we take responsibility: for now it is up to individual citizens, churches, and businesses to take the lead in solving global warming. Reducing and offsetting are emerging as the primary ways in which individuals and organizations take responsibility for their pollution. Last year, over $2.7 billion of offsets were sold globally, removing 374 million tons of carbon-dioxide pollution from the environment. Voluntary offsetters now range from corporate giants like Motorola, Dupont, and BP to individuals like you.
4. Who's behind the Cooling Creation project?
Cooling Creation is a campaign of the Evangelical Climate Initiative, a group of evangelical leaders who, because of their commitment to Christ and their care for the Creation that sustains us, have signed the statement entitled Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action. The Cooling Creation project is staffed by the Evangelical Environmental Network, an evangelical ministry dedicated to declaring the Lordship of Christ over all creation. Carbonfund.org is a non-profit organization and one of the world's leading offset organizations. They handle the transactions that turn your financial donations into pollution reduction projects.
5. Who benefits from this transaction? Are you making a profit?
When you make a donation, we all benefit—that is, everyone who would be hurt by climate change benefits, especially the poor who would be hurt the most. All of the organizations behind Cooling Creation are 501(c)(3) non-profits. Ninety-three percent of your donation goes directly to offsets, climate change education, and outreach.
6. How do you know how much carbon I'm responsible for? Is $99 a year the right amount?
The average American is responsible for about 23 tons of global warming pollution annually, based on information from the US Department of Energy. Thus, we offset 23 tons per person. Your global warming pollution may be more or less than the average. The actions you agree to take in Step One help to compensate if you are polluting more than the average.
7. What if I want to offset my church or business?
An easy starting point is to educate your congregation and employees about the Cooling Creation campaign so that they can offset their individual global warming pollution. But you may want to work with us to offset the pollution caused by energy use and product use at your church or business. If you want your church or business to be Carbon Free, then please contact us.
8. How can I know your carbon offsets are really working?
Third-party certification and verification at every step of the process is important to make sure that your investment in global warming pollution reduction actually results in measurable changes to the atmosphere. We chose to work with Carbonfund.org in part because of their high standards for verifying the results of their offsetting transactions. You can read about their verification process on their web site.
9. How can reducing carbon in another location reduce the impact of climate change where I live?
Unlike some forms of pollution which have mostly local effects (like water pollution or noise pollution), the greenhouse gases that cause global warming are mixed in an atmospheric system that spans the entire planet. Carbon dioxide emitted in Brazil or Thailand is just as bad for your hometown as CO2 emitted from your own tailpipe. In the same way, global warming pollution prevented anywhere on the planet benefits the climate system equally.
10. Can't I just reduce my own carbon footprint, without offsetting?
It would be very difficult. Even if you got rid of your air conditioner and home heating systems, shut off the electricity to your house, and biked or walked everywhere, you would be reducing your global warming pollution by less than half! You would still be responsible for global warming pollution emitted by the industries that grew and distributed your food, that produced the products you buy, that built your house. You'd still indirectly rely on fossil fuel to power services like police and fire protection, national security, telecommunications, education, and publishing. In short, you're part of a system, so it would be very difficult (and inconvenient) to reduce your global warming pollution to zero on your own. Offsetting provides a way to affect the way the system works.
11. Isn't offsetting just like buying your way out of personal responsibility?
For some people, that's their first impression. That's why our approach is a two-step process, asking you to first reduce what you can, and only then to offset the rest of your emissions. Truly caring for Creation and loving our neighbors requires us to take responsibility for all of our global warming pollution, and there's no way for most of us to minimize that impact without offsetting.
12. Is my contribution tax deductible?
Yes. The Cooling Creation partners are non-profits, and you do not receive any direct personal financial or material benefit from your contribution.
13. What if my question isn't on this list?
Let us know, by writing us at info@coolingcreation.org. If we don't know the answer, we'll find out.
