Carbon Offsets: Serious Solution or Eco-Hype?
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 09.04.07 | 12:53 PM ET
As we’ve noted before, more and more travelers are buying carbon offsets to counterbalance the effects of carbon emitted during their journeys. But just how much good does it do? On Sunday, the Los Angeles Times became the latest publication to take a critical look at carbon offsets, questioning their effectiveness. At the center of the paper’s report is the notion that the carbon offsets industry is “clouded by an approach to carbon accounting that makes it easy to claim reductions that didn’t occur.”
The story continues: “Many projects that have received money from offset companies would have reduced emissions by the same amount anyway.”
The article cites numerous examples of the questionable impact of carbon offsets, including those purchased by the makers of the Al Gore documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.”
An environmental economist at Harvard told the newspaper: “Everybody would like to find happy-face, win-win solutions that don’t cost anything. Unfortunately, they don’t exist.”
Related on World Hum:
* Carbon Offsets for Travelers: What Are You Really Paying For?
* Green Travel: ‘Who’s Scamming, Who’s Legit and How Do We Know the Difference?’
Photo by greengobbler via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
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Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.
Noah 09.05.07 | 3:44 PM ET
I’m not feeling the carbon credit thing, either. On the flip side of the “they would have done it anyways” argument is “if you can reduce your emissions when someone buys carbon credits from you, why aren’t you always reducing your emissions?”
This is one of many reasons why I bike for fun instead of biking for the environment. Theres no ulterior motive or hidden agenda. I’m Just having fun while getting where I need to be.
Gideon Greenspan 09.05.07 | 4:25 PM ET
Hi Noah,
I just say this and thought it would be timely to mention Carbon Catalog, a new independent directory of carbon offsets.
http://www.carboncatalog.org/
Carbon Catalog lists over 30 voluntary carbon offset providers and 120 of their projects around the world. Every project and provider is mapped and categorized for easy access.
Our aim at Carbon Catalog is to help people decide whether to purchase carbon offsets, and if so, from which projects and providers. We have no relationship with any of the projects or providers listed.