The Elephant
The climate change and environmental emergency: a comprehensive resource for journalists, politicians, policy makers, activists and citizens
The ElephantThe climate change and environmental emergency: a comprehensive resource for journalists, politicians, policy makers, activists and citizens
Industry push to earn carbon credits from Australia’s native forests would be a blow for nature and the climate
2024-08-12 by in The ConversationAustralia cannot risk any further declines in its biodiversity resulting from harvesting native forests, or actions that bring further risks to its emissions-reduction goal.
Tagged under: Carbon Offsetting | Trees | Forests | Australia
Offsets on fire
2024-08-08 (or before) in PoliticoWildfires are once again threatening California’s climate goals.
Tagged under: Wildfires | Trees | Carbon Offsetting | California
Reforestation programs could threaten vast area of tropical grasslands
2024-02-29 (or before) in Science DailyNew research reveals the scale of inappropriate reforestation projects across Africa. A new study reveals that an area the size of France is threatened by forest restoration initiatives, such as the AFR100 initiative (African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative), due to inappropriate restoration in the form of tree-planting.
Tagged under: Carbon Offsetting | Trees | Africa | Grasslands
Ministers could use loophole to water down carbon reduction commitments
2024-02-28 in The GuardianClimate committee urges government not to relax future targets after UK overachieved in 2018-22, in part thanks to lockdowns
Tagged under: Carbon Offsetting | Committee on Climate Change UK
Trees struggle to ‘breathe’ as climate warms, researchers find
2024-02-02 (or before) in EurekAlert! Science News ReleasesTrees are struggling to sequester heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) in warmer, drier climates, meaning that they may no longer serve as a solution for offsetting humanity's carbon footprint as the planet continues to warm, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers.
Tagged under: Trees | Carbon Offsetting
Cookstove carbon offsets overstate climate benefit by 1,000%, study finds
2024-01-23 in The GuardianCookstove projects are one of the fastest-growing carbon offset schemes but research finds carbon benefits are vastly overstated
Tagged under: Deforestation | Carbon Offsetting
Revealed: top carbon offset projects may not cut planet-heating emissions
2023-09-19 in The GuardianMajority of offset projects that have sold the most carbon credits are ‘likely junk’, according to analysis by Corporate Accountability and the Guardian
Tagged under: Carbon Offsetting
The world’s biggest carbon capture facility is being built in Texas. Will it work?
2023-09-12 in The GuardianThe plant will inject 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the ground each year – but is it just greenwashing from big oil?
Tagged under: Texas | Carbon Capture and Storage | Carbon Offsetting
Shell signals retreat from carbon offsetting
2023-09-08 in The GuardianOil company is latest firm to act amid indications that carbon credits do nothing to mitigate global heating
Tagged under: Shell | Fossil Fuels | Carbon Offsetting
Carbon credit speculators could lose billions as offsets deemed ‘worthless’
2023-08-24 in The GuardianMany credits in the voluntary market going unused, with study finding some offsetting could make global heating worse
Tagged under: Carbon Offsetting
Drop carbon offsetting-based environmental claims, companies urged
2023-07-10 in The GuardianNew guidance says carbon credits should only be used to contribute to climate mitigation
Tagged under: Climate Change Mitigation | Carbon Offsetting
Oil lobbyists spend millions to stall California’s game-changing climate bill
2023-07-05 in The GuardianBills would force large companies that do business in the state to report all emissions and crack down on bogus carbon offset claims
Tagged under: Fossil Fuels | California | Carbon Offsetting
Improving soil could keep world within 1.5C heating target, research suggests
2023-07-04 in The GuardianBetter farming techniques across the world could lead to storage of 31 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide a year, data shows
Tagged under: Farming | Carbon Offsetting
‘Worthless’: Chevron’s carbon offsets are mostly junk and some may harm, research says
2023-05-24 in The GuardianExclusive: investigation finds energy giant’s efforts to offset its huge emissions rely on schemes with little impact
Tagged under: Chevron | Carbon Offsetting
Top Offset Project Must Hand Zimbabwe Revenue or Close - Bloomberg
2023-05-18 (or before) in BloombergZimbabwe’s Environment Minister said the operators of a project generating carbon credits from an area almost the size of Puerto Rico will have to give the government half its revenue if the initiative is to survive.
Tagged under: Zimbabwe | Carbon Offsetting
Adverts claiming products are carbon neutral by using offsetting face UK ban
2023-05-15 in The GuardianAdvertising watchdog to begin stricter enforcement on use of terms such as ‘carbon neutral’ amid concerns over offsets
Tagged under: Deforestation | Carbon Offsetting
EU lawmakers vote to ban firms from relying on offsetting when making green claims « Carbon Pulse
2023-05-14 (or before) in Carbon PulseTagged under: Carbon Offsetting
Carbon dioxide removal: the tech that is polarising climate science
2023-04-25 in The GuardianFor some, CDR is crucial to staying below 1.5C. Others say it should not even be on the table. Why is it so controversial?
Tagged under: Carbon Capture and Storage | Carbon Offsetting
New oilfield in the North Sea would blow the UK’s carbon budget
2023-04-01 in The GuardianCampaigners say Rosebank, with a potential yield of 500m barrels, would seriously undermine legal commitment to net zero
Tagged under: Fossil Fuels | Net Zero | Carbon Offsetting
Biggest carbon credit certifier to replace its rainforest offsets scheme
2023-03-10 in The GuardianVerra will phase out programme by mid-2025 after Guardian investigation found it was flawed
Tagged under: Deforestation | Rainforests | Greenhouse Gases | Trees | Carbon Offsetting
Labor’s unlimited use of carbon offsets could lead to rise in emissions, report says
2023-02-10 in The GuardianAnalysis says land-based carbon offsets lead to more fossil fuel mining and fail to deliver genuine emissions reductions
Tagged under: Coal | Land Use | Fossil Fuels | Carbon Offsetting
The Carbon Con – How offsetting claims are vastly inflated
2023-01-18 by in SourceMaterial Ð Climate. Corruption. Democracy.The world’s biggest companies are pouring billions into an offsetting industry whose climate claims appear increasingly at odds with reality.
Tagged under: Carbon Offsetting
‘Nowhere else to go’: forest communities of Alto Mayo, Peru, at centre of offsetting row
2023-01-18 in The GuardianThe Guardian visits the Peruvian Amazon as part of a continuing investigation into forest-based carbon offsetting
Tagged under: Amazon Rainforest | Trees | Carbon Offsetting
Revealed: more than 90% of rainforest carbon offsets by biggest certifier are worthless, analysis shows
2023-01-18 in The GuardianInvestigation into Verra carbon standard finds most are ‘phantom credits’ and may worsen global heating
Tagged under: Deforestation | Shell | Rainforests | Greenhouse Gases | Trees | Carbon Offsetting
California's carbon offsetting may actually be increasing emissions | New Scientist
2022-12-24 (or before) in New ScientistThe state's ambitious plan to be carbon-neutral by 2045 relies on carbon offsets through the state’s forests. But scientists say it may be causing more harm than good
Tagged under: California | Trees | Carbon Offsetting
Gove’s defence of UK coalmine dismissed as ‘greenwashing nonsense’
2022-12-13 in The GuardianHead of offsetting standard rubbishes minister’s claim of Cumbrian mine’s carbon neutrality as ‘absurd’
Tagged under: Greenhouse Gases | Coal | Fossil Fuels | Carbon Offsetting
Forest regeneration that earned multimillion-dollar carbon credits resulted in fewer trees, analysis finds
2022-11-06 in The GuardianExclusive: Claim by academics, including former integrity chair of Australia’s carbon credit scheme, raises further doubts about system
Tagged under: Deforestation | Greenhouse Gases | Trees | Carbon Offsetting
Drive Carbon Neutral
2022-01-26 (or before) in Shell in UK | Shell United KingdomOffsetting with the Shell Card and enabling your fleet to drive carbon neutral can play a key role in your low carbon planning, allowing you to offset unavoidable emissions in a simple and cost-effective way.
Tagged under: Shell | Carbon Offsetting
Carbon offsetting is not warding off environmental collapse – it’s accelerating it | George Monbiot
2022-01-26 in The GuardianWealthy companies are using the facade of ‘nature-based solutions’ to enact a great carbon land grab, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
Tagged under: Shell | Greenhouse Gases | Wildlife | Collapse | Carbon Offsetting
‘Dangerous blindspot’: why overlooking blue carbon could sink us
2021-11-06 in The GuardianExceptional new findings show the huge potential of salt marshes for sucking up carbon. But is it too late for blue carbon to save the world?
Tagged under: COP26 | Greenhouse Gases | Wildlife | Trees | Carbon Offsetting
Reforestation hopes threaten global food security, Oxfam warns
2021-08-03 in The GuardianOver-reliance on tree-planting to offset carbon emissions could push food prices up 80% by 2050
Tagged under: Greenhouse Gases | Trees | Carbon Offsetting
The climate crisis can't be solved by carbon accounting tricks | Simon Lewis
2021-03-03 in The GuardianDisaster looms if big finance is allowed to game the carbon offsetting markets to achieve ‘net zero’ emissions, says climate scientist and writer Simon Lewis
Tagged under: COP26 | Greenhouse Gases | Fossil Fuels | Net Zero | Finance | Carbon Offsetting
Shell, BP, and Easyjet: The Big Polluters Designing the Rules for Voluntary Carbon Offsets
2021-01-22 by in DeSmogMany of the world’s most polluting companies are being handed a “get out of jail free” card by being invited to shape a scaled-up offsetting market, campaigners claim. The Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets is due to publish its “roadmap for implementation” on Wednesday, four months after it was launched by former Bank of England […]
Tagged under: BP | Shell | Carbon Offsetting
10 myths about net zero targets and carbon offsetting, busted
2020-12-11 by in Climate Home NewsCarbon neutrality targets are often not as ambitious as they sound, relying on problematic carbon offsets and unproven technologies
Tagged under: Net Zero | Carbon Offsetting
Beyond “Net-Zero”: A Case for Separate Targets for Emissions Reduction and Negative Emissions
2020-03-05 (or before) in Frontiers• Targets and accounting for negative emissions should be explicitly set and managed separately from existing and future targets for emissions reduction. • Failure to make such a separation has already hampered climate policy, exaggerating the expected future contribution of negative emissions in climate models, while also obscuring the extent and pace of the investment needed to deliver negative emissions. • Separation would help minimise the negative impacts that promises and deployments of negative emissions could have on emissions reduction, arising from effects such as temporal trade-offs, excessive offsettin...
Tagged under: Net Zero | Carbon Offsetting
Airlines want you to think they’re serious about the climate crisis. They’re not | Max Wakefield
2020-02-04 in The GuardianAn offer to plant trees to offset carbon emissions isn’t a solution – it’s a licence to continue with business as usual, says environmental activist Max Wakefield
Tagged under: Greta Thunberg | Air Travel | Trees | Carbon Offsetting | Activism
UN climate talks failing to address urgency of crisis, says top scientist
2019-12-08 in The GuardianCOP25 in Madrid criticised for focusing on details instead of agreeing deep cuts to emissions
Tagged under: Greta Thunberg | Greenhouse Gases | Climate Change | Carbon Offsetting | Extinction Rebellion | Extinction
Gucci And Burberry Are Now ‘Carbon Offsetting’ – But What Does It Mean And Does It Actually Work?
2019-11-18 (or before) in British Vogue - Fashion, Trends, Latest News, Catwalk Photos & Designers | British VogueTagged under: Fashion Industry | Carbon Offsetting
Why carbon offsetting is not the panacea Harry and Meghan might think it is
2019-08-20 by Emine Saner in The GuardianElton John claimed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s private jet use was ‘carbon neutral’. The reality is more complicated
Tagged under: Carbon Capture and Storage | Carbon Offsetting | Air Travel | Greenhouse Gases | Climate Change
Tree planting 'has mind-blowing potential' to tackle climate crisis
2019-07-04 in The GuardianResearch shows a trillion trees could be planted to capture huge amount of carbon dioxide
Tagged under: Deforestation | Greenhouse Gases | Trees | Carbon Capture and Storage | Carbon Offsetting
An (Even More) Inconvenient Truth: Why Carbon Credits For Forest Preservation May Be Worse Than Nothing
2019-05-22 by in Pro PublicaThe hunger for these offsets is blinding us to the mounting pile of evidence that they haven't — and won't — deliver the climate benefit they promise.
Tagged under: Deforestation | Climate Change | Forests | Carbon Capture and Storage | Carbon Offsetting | Trees
UK's 'creative carbon accounting' breaches climate deal, say critics
2019-04-25 in The GuardianUK exclusion of international aviation and shipping figures from carbon budgets was highlighted by Greta Thunberg
Tagged under: Greta Thunberg | Greenhouse Gases | Carbon Offsetting
London mayor unveils plan to tackle 'climate emergency'
2018-12-11 in The GuardianExclusive: Sadiq Khan accuses government of dragging its feet and calls for investment to avert catastrophe
Tagged under: Greenhouse Gases | Carbon Offsetting
James Lovelock: 'Enjoy life while you can: in 20 years global warming will hit the fan'
2008-03-01 in Wayback MachineThe climate science maverick believes catastrophe is inevitable, carbon offsetting is a joke and ethical living a scam. So what would he do, asks Decca Aitkenhead
Tagged under: Activism | Carbon Offsetting
James Lovelock: 'Enjoy life while you can: in 20 years global warming will hit the fan'
2008-03-01 in The GuardianThe climate science maverick believes catastrophe is inevitable, carbon offsetting is a joke and ethical living a scam. So what would he do, asks Decca Aitkenhead
Tagged under: Activism | Carbon Offsetting
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