Translated by Elisa Bruni
The carbon offset market proves to be quite ineffective in reducing carbon emissions. The latest projects using renewable resources, in fact, are often self-financed and already profitable, resulting in the carbon offset funding being unsuccessful in compensating the emissions that were produced in the first place.
Let’s take a step back and better explain the features of the carbon offset market.
Carbon offsetting refers to any activity aimed at compensating for carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), or the emission of other greenhouse gases, through the implementation of alternative projects focused on reducing pollution by the same amount.
In other words, carbon offsetting is the compensation of pollutant emissions produced by individuals, companies or any other business through the financing of sustainable projects meant for reducing emissions to the same extent as those that were produced.
The compensation mechanism works by purchasing carbon credits, certificates representing one tonne of absorbed, or not emitted, carbon dioxide. They can be purchased by companies and institutions to financially support compensation projects for environmental protection.
The carbon credits mechanism was introduced for the first time in 1997 with the Kyoto Protocol, the first international treaty aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The mechanism is now included in many international schemes, such as the EU Emissions Trading System, that is the EU carbon emission trading scheme launched in 2005 and aimed at decreasing greenhouse gas emissions in European countries, or the 2015 Paris Agreement, adopted when carbon credits started to play a significant role in pursuing some of the Sustainable Development Goals outlined in Agenda 2030. Pollutant emissions are fundamental especially in Goal 13, which encourages the fight against climate change, since compensation is essential in order to achieve climate neutrality.
Although some companies can limit their carbon footprint by using renewable energy sources, it is true that often other industries, despite technological progress, cannot avoid producing carbon emissions, because the manufacturing or production processes do not allow any adjustment towards a non-polluting system.
This is why carbon offsetting is fundamental: especially for members of this category, the possibility of purchasing carbon credits to finance projects aimed at compensating pollutant emissions allows the system to be balanced and encourages climate neutrality.
Carbon credits can be purchased from certified external institutions, including Verified Carbon Standard, Gold Standard, American Carbon Registry and Climate Action Reserve. One can finance sustainability projects such as plans of reforestation, renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, as well as blue carbon projects (projects of ecosystem restoration and preservation in wetlands), programs of waste management (using waste as source of energy) and environmental impact.
Most of the projects supported by the purchase of carbon credits are implemented in developing countries, with the aim of reducing disparities between regions with a different level of development.
According to this description, carbon offsetting should be leading companies towards the achievement of sustainable development goals and appears useful for the planet: however, if recent global directives are taken into consideration the analysis shows a different picture.
On Wednesday, January 17, the European Parliament banned the use of terms such as “ecological”, “biodegradable” or “sustainable” without verification. Additionally, they imposed a total ban on the use of compensation schemes to prove these statements. Members of the European Parliament stressed the importance of outlawing the use of compensation plans when products are advertised as “carbon neutral” in a bid to have consumers believe they will not aggravate the climate crisis by purchasing them.
According to new anti-greenwashing legislation, the goal is to put a stop to “misleading green marketing” that aims to sell products labeled as environmentally friendly, while developed by carbon emissions compensation projects.
Sustainable plans pursued by companies certainly constitute a positive sign: however, according to new legislation they ought not to be labeled “climate-neutral” or “climate-positive”, as they are aimed at compensating pollutant emissions.
“Planting trees in the rainforest should not be seen as a way of neutralizing the impact on climate change of processes such as car manufacturing, the organization of a soccer World Cup or cosmetics production. This practice of deception belongs in the past”, said Anna Cavazzini, Member of the European Parliament and President of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer protection.
The directive of the European Parliament is only one of the many voices opposing carbon offsetting, especially in light of recent investigations proving the ineffectiveness of emissions neutralization schemes.
In January, The Guardian published a survey about forest carbon offsets approved by the world’s top certifier and used by big corporations for sustainability goals, revealing that more than 90% of the compensations had no actual value.
Moreover, the compensation mechanism has been criticized worldwide. Could the EU directive lead to global restrictions on the carbon offset market?
There is no clear answer to this, since the future of carbon offsetting will depend on international governmental decisions that, until now, haven’t prompted a final settlement, not even at COP28.
There is no doubt that, even though carbon compensation programs are considerably valuable for the promotion of environmental development projects, nobody can really guarantee that the tree planted today to compensate for a flight will be there in twenty years. Climate change threatens the environment and, therefore, requires a far stronger response.
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Fonti utilizzate per il seguente articolo:
https://climateseed.com/it/compensazione-co2-carbon-offset-una-breve-guida
https://unsplash.com/it/foto/mulino-a-vento-bianco-su-mountian-2eW4bKyZFFg (fonte immagine)
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L'Autore
Elisa Modonutti
Studentessa di Scienze internazionali e diplomatiche, amante della lettura, dei viaggi e con una curiosità innata di scoprire il mondo che ci circonda
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Carbon offsetting greenwashing European Parliament climate change Sustainable energy