What do you mean by compensation?
Not all emissions are avoidable. However, they can be compensated for, for example, by preserving intact natural areas. In these areas, large quantities of CO2 are bound in living biomass. TheCO2 storage capacity of areas in ecosystems can be calculated. This makes it possible to directly link compensation volumes and natural areas. For example, the temperate rainforest is the world champion ofCO2 sequestration. Wilderness International has researched how muchCO2 is absorbed by the huge rainforest trees: In an area of 100 m2, the temperate rainforest in our protected areas binds 6 tons ofCO2. This corresponds to the average annual consumption of a European.
The word "compensation" implies that theCO2 emitted is absorbed somewhere else. This is the case with our forests, but still to an unknown extent, as we have still not been able to satisfactorily record the growth. Therefore, we can only quantify how much carbon is already sequestered and will remain sequestered as a result of protection.
The same applies to many other projects: Solar stoves do not bindCO2 either, but merely prevent wood from being burned for cooking and thus furtherCO2 being emitted. In addition, we have no production costs, energy and raw material consumption for the forest.
More importantly, the aim of compensation should not only be to offsetCO2 and thus stop global warming, but to halt climate change as a whole and preserve life on Earth itself. We can only achieve this with the help of the many important functions that the forest has for a stable climate, the biodiversity it harbors and the livelihood it provides, and which we can only preserve by protecting existing, intact forests. You can read more about this in question 15. How does the rainforest offset myCO2 emissions?