How much does 1 tree offset

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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.