Average Carbon-Neutral Individual
A few people offset their carbon emission of flights (and you should do as well). Flights have a drastic impact on your carbon budget, but what about life in general? How easily could we live a carbon-neutral lifestyle? The concept of the Average Carbon-Neutral Individual (ACNI) provides a simple solution. Your annual carbon emissions, except flights, are mostly determined by the country you live in. If you live in the US, Canada, or Australia you most likely produce about 22 tons of CO2 equivalent. The EU is much more efficient with an average of 7.1 tons, and if you live France, Sweden, or Switzerland it’s only 5.1 tons.
Thus, becoming an ACNI is simple:
Each year, compensate the per capita carbon emissions of your home country.
To find the per capita carbon emissions of your country, use the service of the World Resources Institute:
The two recommended services for carbon compensation are myclimate from Switzerland and atmosfair from Germany. Each ton of CO2 costs about $26. For me, living in Switzerland, this results in $145 per year; an average German, however, has to pay $260 and an American even $520. (It’s useful to live in a country with a carbon-efficient economy.)
This is an acceptable price to pay for people living in high-income countries. And it’s their lifestyle that’s so much more carbon-intense than it is good for our planet. Being an ACNI is like opting-in for the not-yet-existing carbon tax. And the only way to reduce the price is to become a sustainable society.
Thus, I hope to convince more people to become ACNIs and make our society aware of our carbon emissions. If you want to support this idea, think about becoming an ACNI yourself!
List of famous ACNIs 🤓
- Johanna Schulze-Ardey, Switzerland
- Nicolas Hölsch, Switzerland
- Vera Ihle, Switzerland
- Ben Brandt, Switzerland
- Yoko Spirig, Switzerland
- Jules Henze, Switzerland
- Timo Horstschäfer, Switzerland
Want to join the list? Fill out this form.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve just become a proud ACNI! Do I still need to compensate for my flights?
The beauty of the ACNI is that if all people on the planet were to become one, our society would be completely carbon-neutral. Including your flights. However, if you have above-average CO2 emissions and don’t compensate, this means that other people (usually with less money) have to pay for your lifestyle.
