The Contribution of Carbon Offsets to Addressing Climate Change: Are They Useful?
Think about hiring someone to plant trees while you keep driving your car every day. Would that actually save our planet? This is precisely what carbon offsets purport to do. But here's the terrible news: 87% of bought carbon offsets have a high chance of not actually reducing emissions. With our global carbon pollution still increasing and our climate emergency worsening, we must pose an uncomfortable question: Are carbon offsets really doing anything? What Are Carbon Offsets? Carbon offsets are similar to credits you purchase to "cancel out" your pollution. When a business or individual produces carbon emissions, they can buy these credits to offset them. The funds go towards projects that decrease emissions or remove carbon from the atmosphere. These include planting trees, preserving existing forests, constructing wind farms, or installing methane capture at landfills. The idea sounds simple and fair. You pollute here, but you help clean up there. Unfortunately, th...