Critics have taken aim at an Australian scheme meant to encourage forest regrowth. But independent assessments show the regeneration schemes are working
Articles on Carbon offsets
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Many Formula 1 innovations have made their way from the racetrack to regular roads. But technological improvements can only go so far toward limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
There are better ways for teams to cut their climate impact.
Consumers are often willing to pay more for eco-friendly products – but are they getting what they paid for?
Australia has long relied on super-cheap carbon credit, despite well-established concerns about their integrity.
Planting trees might make Freetown in Sierra Leone more resilient to climate change but it won’t end global warming. Only ditching fossil fuels can do that.
The new system may essentially give countries and companies permission to keep polluting.
Your organisation should probably ditch offsets too.
Microsoft, Walmart and a few other high-profile companies made news for scaling back their public climate commitments. However, a closer look at the numbers shows commitments are still booming.
Net zero is not as simple as planting a tree. The first step is understanding that tackling climate change, and reaching true net zero, requires returning carbon to the ground.
Insulating attics, replacing windows and adding heat pumps can save money and reduce emissions − if residents can afford the upgrades. Carbon-offset purchases by local companies could help.
A deep dive into 866 public companies and 1,413 carbon projects reveals some twists in who relies on cheap offsets and who chooses to cut their own emissions instead.
The global carbon removal industry must be drastically scaled up to avert climate breakdown.
Large parts of Appalachia’s forests, once owned by coal companies, now make money for investors by storing carbon. But the results bring few jobs or sizable investments for residents.
Carbon farming has its problems, but we shouldn’t write it off. After all, good projects can store carbon – and bring back habitat.
The idea that harm done today can be offset in the future is based on a basic misunderstanding of the carbon cycle. Planting more trees is important – but it’s no substitute for cutting emissions.
For Australia to shift to a net zero economy, its big polluters need to cut emissions. A get-out clause buried in the policy makes it unlikely that they will, and the result will be devastating.
In May, the Northern Territory government greenlit the mammoth Beetaloo Basin fracking project. But they did so based on a report with optimistic projections on offsets and emissions.
Tracking both the amount of carbon and the time that it remains stored is key to unlocking the potential of nature-based carbon storage as a climate mitigation strategy.
Global efforts to cut emissions fall well short of what’s needed to avoid dangerous warming. It’s becoming essential to develop carbon-removal strategies to get to net zero.
Top contributors
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Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy and Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Australian National University
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Senior Research Fellow, School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Melbourne
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Professor and Director of Research, ANU Law School, Australian National University
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Honorary Professorial Fellow, The University of Melbourne
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Senior lecturer, Australian National University
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Professor of Global Change, Queensland University of Technology
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Faculty of Law, The University of Western Australia
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Professor of Sustainability Governance, University of Technology Sydney
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Professor of Sustainable Tourism, Griffith Institute for Tourism, Griffith University
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Associate Professor, The University of Western Australia
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Adjunct Professor of Energy, Murdoch University
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Head of Policy and Partnerships, University of Oxford
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James Martin Fellow, Oxford Martin School, Environmental Change Institute and Institute for Science Innovation and Society, University of Oxford
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Foundation Professor of Horticulture and Viticulture, The University of Melbourne
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Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Reading