# What happens when I buy a carbon offset? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 20, 2022, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-i-buy-a-carbon-offset/971926 "2022-09-20T16:49:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 2
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-i-buy-a-carbon-offset/971926/2 "2022-09-20T16:53:39Z")
For what it’s worth, I started a related thread over in IMHO: > [@Carbon Offset Programs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carbon-offset-programs/971925): > > In a thread in FQ, I’m trying to figure out how much extra CO2 I’ll emit if I buy a regular car instead of a hybrid or plug-in hybrid. The idea being, what if I bought the regular car and used some of the savings to purchase carbon offsets – sort of like imposing a carbon tax on myself. The price is surprisingly low, like less that $200 over 10 years (assuming I have the math right over there). This is suspicious – can I really offset my additional carbon emissions for $20/year? Someone in t… --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-i-buy-a-carbon-offset/971926)._