So, how much does one tree offset for carbon dioxide or green house gas emissions? The answer to this question is a little hared to explain then just a simple tree equal’s equation. An oak tree in Midwest absorbs a different amount of CO2 than a palm tree in the Southwest and Florida. The unit of measure for carbon credits or CO2 offsets is tonne of CO2. One of key aspect to the offset of CO2 is the age of the tree as older trees offset far greater amounts of green house gases than a brand new tree.

Let’s first look at the offset of different trees. A twenty-five year old maple tree absorbs 1.1kg or 0.0011 tonnes per year of CO2. So, over 25 years you would need 36 maple trees to offset one tonne of CO2. The average person emits 26 tonnes of CO2 for their carbon footprint. A couple other things to consider is that trees can be living for greater than 25 years where they also absorb more CO2.

You may feel that isn’t much impact though you have to look at pine tree before you make that judgment. A 25 year old pine tree absorbs 6.82kg or 0.00682 tonnes of CO2 per year. Based on the above math of this tree over 25 years, you would only need 6 trees to offset one tone of CO2.

Let’s look at how many trees you would need to buy to offset one tonne if the tree lives for 50 years. You would need to plant 20 maple trees compare to 3 pine trees. Disease and deforestation do impact whether a tree survives for 50 years and beyond.

Plant a Tree and Offset Your Carbon Footprint

1. Average person produces 26 tonnes of CO2 per year
2. 6 Twenty-Five year old pine trees absorb 1 tonne of CO2
3. 36 Twenty-Five year old maple trees absorb 1 tonne of CO2

• Plant 1 Tree $17.50 - Buy a Tree
• Plant 10 Trees $150 - Buy a Tree

Annual Emissions and Fuel Consumption for an Average Passenger Vehicle:

Passenger vehicle fleet is 63.4% cars and 36.6% light truck (includes SUVs and minivans)
Calculations are based on a weighted average of cars and light trucks.
Average GHG emissions– CO2E: 12,100 lbs/year (5.5 metric tons /year)
Average GHG emissions– CE: 3,300 lbs/year (1.5 metric tons/year)
Average CO2 emissions: 11,470 lbs/year (5.2 metric tons/year)
Average Carbon emissions: 3,100 lbs/year (1.4 metric tons/year)
Average fuel consumption: ~600 gallons/year
Recommend: 1.5 MMTCE = annual GHG (CE) emissions equivalent to those of 1 million
vehicles

Source: U.S. EPA, Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Typical Passenger Vehicle, 2004.

Average Annual CO2 Emissions for an Average Household:

Averages per U.S. household (includes single-family and multi-unit housing)
Averages include emissions from electricity and other sources (natural gas, petroleum, etc.)
Average loss rate for electricity is 8 - 9 percent.
Average CO2 emissions: 22,880 lbs/year (10.4 metric tons/ year)
Average CO2 emissions from electricity only: 16,290 lbs/ year (7.4 metric tons/ year)
Average Carbon emissions: 6,240 lbs/year (2.8 metric tons/year)
Average kWh: 10,660 kWh/ year (100 mmBtu/ year, delivered)

Source: EPA E-Grid 2002; RECS, 2001; Buildings Energy Databook, 2004

Average Annual CO2 Emissions for an Average Single-Family Home:
Average CO2 emissions: 24,900 lbs/year (11.3 metric tons/ year)
Average Carbon emissions: 6,800 lbs/year (3.1 metric tons/year)
Average kWh: 11,965 kWh/ year (124 mmBtu/ year, delivered)
Recommend: 3.1 MMTCE = annual Carbon emissions equivalent to those of 1 million
homes

Source: RECS, 2001

The average single-family home adds more than twice as much greenhouse gas (CE) emissions
to the atmosphere as the average passenger vehicle.