The use of offsets is one of the most controversial aspects of the net-zero concept. To contribute to the debate and to build a shared understanding of key issues around the use of offsets, this is the first of two webinars intended for financial institutions with net-zero ambitions.
Offsetting allows companies to meet their emissions targets by purchasing certificates that supposedly represent avoided emissions or removals of GHGs from the atmosphere. Unfortunately, more than two decades of experience with both regulated and voluntary offset schemes, and repeated failed attempts to fix these problems, shows that the simple concept behind offsetting is extremely difficult to implement in practice.
Experiences of cheating, flawed methodologies, and perverse incentives show that offsets’ quality problems go beyond careless program design or a few “bad apple” consultants and are inherent to carbon offsetting as a climate strategy.
In this first webinar we discussed past experience with offsetting schemes. We elaborated on the evolving quality challenges with the two main regulated markets, the Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism and California’s offset program, as well as the voluntary offset market. We discussed the underlying reasons those quality challenges persist, and what this means for the offset industry going forward. We also discussed the unique challenges of land-use offsets.
A second webinar focused on the future of offsetting, including the implications of the agreements at COP26 on implementing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
Learn more:
- Watch our webinar “The future of offsets: recommendations for the finance sector”
