CathCAP is a kind of carbon offset platform that gives you the opportunity to compensate for your carbon footprint using calculators to estimate the cost of your emissions and the respective carbon offsets. However, CathCAP differs from other platforms in that it is more flexible about how that compensation happens, and isn’t strictly a one-for-one compensation. In reality, very few carbon offset platforms can guarantee an exact offset for each ton of greenhouse gases produced, since there are so many uncertain variables involved in the process. You can learn more about how we calculate your offset here
Additionally, one of CathCAP’sprimary goals is to promote environmental education and activism in communities of faith. By allowing communities some flexibility in how they spend their offset funds, the platform encourages community engagement and collective decision-making and education.

How does CathCAP estimate carbon offsets? 

CathCAP’s offset cost calculations are good faith estimates of what is both fair and realistic for offsetting greenhouse gas emissions.

It is difficult to find the exact ecological, social, and economic “cost” of emitting a specific amount of greenhouse gases; thus it is also difficult to determine a dollar value that would “offset” its many negative impacts.

One practical way to approach this question is to calculate the cost of removing that same amount of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. This is also difficult to estimate—many variables are at play, such as when, where, how, and by whom the offsets are done. For example, the amount of land available for planting trees and the kinds of subsidies offered for installing solar panels may vary significantly. Nevertheless using this method, CathCAP tries to approximate a dollar amount that is small enough to be affordable, but big enough to make a difference.

What kinds of projects does CathCAP support?

For both individuals contributing to the general fund and communities developing their own projects, CathCAP supports a much wider range of environmental projects than similar offset platforms. These projects can directly absorb carbon from the atmosphere, like planting tree, or reduce greenhouse gas emissions, e.g. installing solar panels. They can also indirectly decrease emissions, like reducing food waste in a school cafeteria, which would otherwise emit potent greenhouse gases when breaking down in the landfill.

While CathCAP’s approach is certainly about reducing and offsetting emissions, it is also about taking an integral approach to caring for our common home. This includes addressing other important environmental and social issues, like community development, civic education, habitat preservation, waste reduction, and care for God’s creation. This is what sets CathCAP apart from other carbon offset platforms, and this is what will help communities work together toward an ecological conversion—in the true spirit of Laudato si’.