Carbon credits are pollution permits for the rich
Offsets allow companies and countries to make ‘carbon neutral’ claims without taking real steps to decarbonise.
Mohamed Adow is a climate justice advocate and director of energy and climate think-tank Power Shift Africa.
Carbon credits have long been mistakenly portrayed as a silver bullet that will both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fund global development. But critics warn they are merely a cover for rich companies and countries to carry on polluting.
Recently, those critics were proven right again. Reuters reported that a leaked document from staff at a corporate watchdog that audits companies’ climate plans said that “some or most emission reduction credits are ineffective in delivering emissions reductions”.
For years, climate policy experts have warned that carbon credits are dangerous because they allow companies and countries to make claims of being ‘carbon neutral’, or even ‘carbon negative’, while taking no steps to decarbonise their polluting activities.
