Corporate Carbon Offsets "Ineffectual", "Counting Game" Per 60 Leading Climate Scientists From 9 Countries

Carbon offsets used by corporations around the world to lower their reportable greenhouse gas emissions are “ineffectual” and “hindering the energy transition”, according to more than 60 leading climate change scientists. A pledge signed by scientists from nine countries, including the UK, the US and Australia, said the “only path that can prevent further escalation of climate impacts” was “real zero” and not “net zero”.

The “real zero pledge” was organised by the Lethal Humidity Global Council, a group of scientists, health experts and policymakers. Among the signatories are Prof Michael Mann, of the University of Pennsylvania; Prof Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research; and Bill Hare, founder of Climate Analytics and a member of a UN expert group that has warned about the overuse of carbon offsets.

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Prof Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, another signatory and climate scientist at Australian National University, said: “In many ways ‘net zero’ is a Band-Aid solution because it doesn’t fix the problem at the source.” Russell Reichelt, a veteran public servant and Australian ambassador on sustainable oceans, said many offsets relied on the ability of the land and ocean to act as a sink for greenhouse gas emissions. But he was concerned that these natural sinks, such as forests and oceans, were already struggling to absorb the extra CO2 humans are emitting.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/28/corporations-using-ineffectual-carbon-offsets-are-slowing-path-to-real-zero-more-than-60-climate-scientists-say