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Purchase carbon offsets

Third-party and independently verified carbon offsets projects provide an opportunity to offset emissions in areas where reductions aren’t feasible.

What’s Going On

3% of Americans say they have never purchased carbon offsets and 8% say they have considered purchasing offsets. Low adoption and consideration scores indicate that purchasing offsets is a rare behavior.

Opportunity

Currently, to buy carbon offsets, people must actively seek them out. A behavioral intervention can increase purchase considerations by having people say yes or no to purchasing carbon offsets at relevant touchpoints, e.g., when booking a flight.

The Impacts

If 5% of U.S. residents offset their emissions, our model estimates we can avoid 276 million MtCO2e annually. This translates to the avoided cost to society of between $12.4 to $142.6 billion per year.

For more information related to the Climate Culture Index research or findings, contact Brandon Schauer at bschauer@rare.org.

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