In 2020, McGill launched the Bayano-McGill Reforestation Project, a carbon offsetting program, alongside the university’s Vision 2020 Climate and Sustainability Action Plan, to help reach its carbon neutrality goals by 2040. The Tribune breaks down what the program is and how it ties into McGill’s long-term sustainability targets.
What are carbon offsets?
Carbon offsets are a mechanism aimed to neutralize the impact of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Polluting individuals and organizations can purchase carbon offsets through a third-party organization to fund agriculture or forestry projects that help remove atmospheric GHGs, or technology-based initiatives such as direct air capture. Once a polluter has measured and quantified their carbon emissions, they can buy equivalent amounts of carbon offsets to compensate.
Those who oppose carbon offsetting claim that organizations may overstate the benefits of their contributions. For example, an investigation from The Guardian found that up to 90 per cent of carbon credits from the Verified Carbon Standard—a prominent crediting program—were “phantom credits,” given for projects that were never implemented. Other critics say that carbon offsets focus on minimizing the impacts of carbon emissions, as opposed to eliminating them altogether.
What is McGill’s commitment toward carbon neutrality?
The university outlined three long-term targets for sustainability in its Climate and Sustainability Strategy 2020-2025. First, McGill aimed to receive a Platinum Sustainability Rating, which it achieved in March 2024. Second, McGill seeks to become zero-waste by 2035, and third, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.
McGill is taking a three-fold approach to achieving carbon neutrality. First, it intends to reduce GHG emissions wherever possible, including by undertaking large-scale energy efficiency projects such as installing electric boilers. Second, McGill plans to sequester carbon on its forested properties, such as the Morgan Arboretum and the Gault Nature Reserve. Third, McGill seeks to purchase carbon offsets to mitigate the harms caused by air travel and commuting. According to the Climate and Sustainability Strategy, these goals are ranked in order of priority and fall in line with guidelines from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
What is McGill’s carbon offset project?
McGill’s carbon offset program is based in eastern Panama, created in partnership with the Indigenous authorities of the Ipetí- and Piriatí-Emberá called the Congreso General Emberá de Alto Bayano, and the Asociación de Mujeres Artesanas de Ipetí-Emberá—an Indigenous women’s NGO. The project aims to reforest a watershed in Panama called the Upper Bayano.
In a written statement to The Tribune, Shona Watt, Associate Director of the McGill Office of Sustainability, explained that the project is overseen and monitored by local leaders and technicians, alongside professors and students involved in McGill’s Panama Field Study Semester.
According to Watt, since the project’s implementation in 2020, Emberá community members have planted more than 44,500 trees in the area, with McGill providing the seedlings and finances needed for planting. As a result of this reforestation, McGill estimates that approximately 925 tonnes of carbon emissions are sequestered each year. Watt also explained that the project “provides an important source of livelihood for its participating families, which became especially critical during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In addition to the Bayano-McGill Reforestation Project, McGill also supports two other carbon-offsetting projects. One of the projects, Bourse du Carbone Scol’ERE, aims to educate youth and their families in Quebec about their carbon footprints. The other project, Carbone Boréal, is a forest plantation research project which works to restore poorly regenerated forest floors in the Canadian Boreal Forest.
McGill’s Climate and Sustainability Strategy for 2025-2030 will be released between Jan. 27 and Jan. 31.
