Carbon Offset Requirement

Free Carbon Offset Requirement calculator with clear step-by-step results.

About Carbon Offset Requirement

Converts a measured carbon footprint into the volume of credits you actually have to retire and what that costs. A non-permanence buffer is added on top because nature-based removals can be reversed by fire, disease or land-use change, and registries hold back a pooled reserve for exactly that reason.

Formulas

Credits to retire

Credits = emissions x offset share x (1 + buffer)

Annual cost

Cost = credits x price per tonne

Worked example

With the default values below, Carbon Offset Requirement returns Credits to retire of 13.800. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Annual emissions to offsetminimum 0 tCO2e: 12 tCO2e
Share of emissions you will offsetaccepts 0–100 %: 100 %
Offset priceminimum 0 $/tCO2e: 18 $/tCO2e
Non-permanence bufferaccepts 0–60 %: 15 %

Results

Credits to retire: 13.800 tCO2e
Buffer credits included: 1.800 tCO2e
Annual offset cost: $248.40
Monthly equivalent: $20.70

Step by step

1Values used
2Credits to retire
3Annual cost
4Credits to retire= 13.800 tCO2e
5Buffer credits included= 1.800 tCO2e
6Annual offset cost= $248.40
7Monthly equivalent= $20.70

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
Offset quality varies enormously and carbon-neutrality claims are increasingly regulated. This is a cost estimate, not advice on credit selection or on the compliance status of any claim you make.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Offset quality varies enormously and carbon-neutrality claims are increasingly regulated. This is a cost estimate, not advice on credit selection or on the compliance status of any claim you make.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why buy more credits than my emissions?

Reversal risk. If a fraction of a forestry project burns, the sequestration it sold never happened. A buffer means your claim survives that outcome.

Does offsetting count as a reduction?

Under most reporting standards, no. Offsets are disclosed separately from gross emissions, and reduction targets must be met by actually cutting emissions.