Carbon Offsets Don't Work. Here's Why

Summary

The video script delves into the complexities of carbon trading as a strategy to combat climate change. It critiques the market-based system for not reducing emissions at their source and potentially exacerbating environmental and social issues. The script highlights the challenges of measuring carbon offsets, the risk of greenwashing, and the disproportionate burden on communities least responsible for climate change. It concludes by advocating for immediate emission reductions at the source, stronger indigenous land rights, and a focus on community health over economic growth.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Human activities, particularly the emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, are the primary cause of climate change.
• ⚠️ There is an urgent need to reduce emissions by 2030 to prevent catastrophic impacts on global climate, agriculture, and societies.
• 💼 Carbon trading is a market-based strategy used by corporations and governments to incentivize emission reductions without directly penalizing businesses.
• 🔄 The basic concept of carbon trading involves companies paying to offset their emissions by funding environmental projects elsewhere.
• 😓 Carbon markets have been criticized for not reducing emissions at the source and for perpetuating reliance on fossil fuels.
• 📊 A 2015 report indicated that 80% of sustainable projects under carbon trading schemes were questionable, leading to an increase in emissions.
• 🌳 Research suggests that to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, 90% of coal, and 60% of oil and gas reserves must remain untapped.
• 🏭 The Cap & Trade program in California, while reducing total emissions, has seen increases in emissions from certain facilities, particularly affecting low-income and minority communities.
• 🌲 Carbon offsets can be unreliable due to challenges in measuring and verifying saved carbon, and the potential for natural disasters to negate their benefits.
• 🌿 Carbon trading can lead to the displacement of indigenous and local communities, as projects like hydropower dams are built on their lands.
• 🌐 Despite the popularity of carbon trading, no existing carbon market has achieved net-zero emissions, indicating a need for more effective strategies.

Q & A

What is the basic premise of carbon trading?

Carbon trading is a market-based system that provides economic incentives for countries and businesses to reduce their environmental footprint by allowing polluters to keep emitting carbon in one place by paying to reduce it somewhere else.

How does the carbon trading system work with companies like Company A and Company B?

Company A, which wants to cut its carbon emissions, can pay Company B to finance a project like building a wind farm or switching from coal to solar plants. A broker matches these offsets with a buyer like Company A, allowing Company B to fund their projects and Company A to meet its emission goals.

What is the main criticism of carbon markets according to the script?

The main criticism is that carbon markets don't reduce emissions at the source, thus continuing to impact environments and communities. They perpetuate reliance on fossil fuels and make things worse by allowing companies to buy offsets instead of decreasing their emissions.

What was the estimated increase in emissions due to questionable sustainable projects under the trading scheme as reported in 2015?

The report in 2015 found that an estimated 80% of sustainable projects under the trading scheme were questionable, enabling emissions to increase by roughly 600 million metric tons.

What does the research suggest about the percentage of fossil fuels that need to stay in the ground to prevent a 1.5 degree Celsius increase in global average temperature?

Research has shown that the world needs to keep 90% of coal, and 60% of oil and gas reserves in the ground to prevent a 1.5 degree Celsius increase in global average temperature.

How does the Cap & Trade program work in California?

The Cap & Trade program in California sets an emissions limit or cap each year. Companies have to either keep within the limit or buy pollution allowances. The cap goes down each year, theoretically making it harder and more expensive to pollute. Companies that reduce their emissions can sell allowances to those that want to pollute more.

What is one of the problems with carbon trading mentioned in the script regarding the effectiveness of carbon offsets?

One of the problems is that it's very hard, if not impossible, to measure and verify saved carbon or avoided emissions. There's no regulation that ensures the quality, permanence, or actual emission reductions of offsets.

How can carbon trading lead to environmental injustice?

Carbon trading can lead to environmental injustice by dispossessing indigenous and local people of their land for projects like hydropower or conservation, taking resources out of their control and forcing those least responsible for climate change to bear the burden of its so-called solutions.

What are some of the suggested alternatives to carbon trading mentioned in the script?

Some suggested alternatives include companies reducing emissions at the source immediately, governments ensuring fossil fuels stay in the ground, and building forest protection and renewable energy projects on strong indigenous land rights, excluding the carbon market.

Why are carbon markets a concern for communities and indigenous people?

Carbon markets can be a concern for communities and indigenous people because projects that do actively keep trees standing or build new hydropower plants often dispossess them of their land, taking resources out of their control and negatively impacting their livelihoods.