“Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future”

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) picks a great week to drop its latest warning

With Putin threatening nuclear war, how about a nice reminder that the climate crisis has not gone away, but it is still an existential threat to all humanity? Thanks, IPCC! No, really. The report says:

• Everywhere is affected, with no inhabited region escaping dire impacts from rising temperatures and increasingly extreme weather.
• About half the global population – between 3.3 billion and 3.6 billion people – live in areas “highly vulnerable” to climate change.
• Millions of people face food and water shortages owing to climate change, even at current levels of heating.
• Mass die-offs of species, from trees to corals, are already under way.
• 1.5C above pre-industrial levels constitutes a “critical level” beyond which the impacts of the climate crisis accelerate strongly and some become irreversible.
• Coastal areas around the globe, and small, low-lying islands, face inundation at temperature rises of more than 1.5C.
• Key ecosystems are losing their ability to absorb carbon dioxide, turning them from carbon sinks to carbon sources.
• Some countries have agreed to conserve 30% of the Earth’s land, but conserving half may be necessary to restore the ability of natural ecosystems to cope with the damage wreaked on them.

So, what can we do?

In short, care and get active. Break the problem down into its key parts and then it’s easier to take action. If everybody takes action, it will all add up to make a significant impact.

Take some CO2 out of the atmosphere

We’ve been pumping carbon dioxide out of our satanic mills since the Industrial Revolution began around 1850. So we need to take it back out of the air. Plants, in general, and hemp, in particular, are how we can do this effectively. Planting trees (and not cutting them down!), promoting greening initiatives, and joining the Hempoffset movement, are ways that you can help remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

Leverage carbon offset as a powerful mechanism

Some people are dead-set against carbon offset because they think it gives polluters a license to keep polluting, and we should be focused on building a carbon-zero economy. Fair points, but they miss the reality of being human. We won’t build a carbon-zero economy until it’s too late, so we need to remove CO2 from the air at scale. We’re convinced that industrial hemp is the most effective way to do this, so that’s what Hempoffset is all about. Our hemp carbon offset products are unlike any other carbon offset option that’s come before. Our carbon offsets are:

1. 100% additional, grown to order. Until we achieve critical mass of hemp growers and infrastructure, our unlocking the carbon offset value of the crop allows farmers to grow hemp profitably, ensuring additionality.
2. 100% verified (we are upfront with everything, from grower details and location, through to independent validation and certification).
3. 100% fully considered (so CO2 generated by, for example, farm machinery, is counted and subtracted from crop CO2 captured).
4. 100% sequestered for 100+ years (the carbon our partner growers capture in their hemp crops will be used to make hempcrete, the sustainable building material, locked up in blocks for ever more!).
5. 100% useful because we’re using captured carbon to build houses and commercial premises. With all our offsets’ co-benefits added up, working with Hempoffset delivers tangible wins for any company’s CSR strategy. It’s a win-win!

Now consider commercial aviation, which is responsible for around 2% of global GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions. Carbon offset gives us a powerful tool to continue to embrace the joy and freedom of aviation, but with our emissions offset as we travel.

And the businesses that we depend upon for lives full of wonder can’t currently avoid running server farms from the national grid, using diesel to power transportation, or using air travel to get around. So our hemp carbon offset products for business are the most effective way for companies to get to carbon neutral fast.

Stop putting so much CO2 into the atmosphere

This is where we need to get, as quickly as possible. We can eat less meat and dairy, we can drive more fuel-efficient cars, we can drive electric cars (provided the electricity that charges them does not come from burning oil, coal, or gas (Hi, Ireland!)), we can stop buying stuff that comes from the other side of the world, such as fancy/insane bottled water.

And the hemp that doesn’t go into our hempcrete (such as seeds) is used to make truly carbon-zero products, from biodiesel, to ethanol, to rocket fuel. Hemp is a win-win, offering an effective way to remove CO2 from the air, while delivering thousands of products that will allow us to STOP USING FOSSIL FUELS IMMEDIATELY. Hemp is the only mechanism that can do this. So we’re doing it.

Subscribe to our email newsletter, to get our Cut Your Carbon Cheatsheet. We’ll keep you informed on our project, how you can get involved, and how you can cut down on your, ahem, gas problem.

Read more

Read the full IPCC report here.

Read The Guardian’s opinion on the IPCC report, on 28/02/22.

Image credits

Coral reef: pexels-francesco-ungaro-3157890

Hemp farm: pexels-kindel-media-7667725

Solar charger: pexels-kindel-media-9800029

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