Offsetting

Compensating carbon dioxide/ greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in a certain place by removing equal amounts of emissions from the atmosphere in a different place. There are serious problems with most offsetting approaches. Climate activists are against this idea because it helps polluters buy their way out of responsibility.

Enabling more fossil fuel emissions based on the assumption that offsets such as tree-planting can undo the damage is only a distraction. Claims about offsetting by major corporations were often found to be exaggerated, fraudulent, or riddled with human rights abuses. In addition, reports have shown that “certified” carbon offsets in many cases do not represent real emission reduction.