Greetings, climatarians.
Today we're looking at the high level of carbon offsets. Let's dive in.
Carbon offsets allow both individuals and corporations to mitigate their overall emissions by paying someone else to reduce elsewhere. The goal should be to reduce emissions to zero (and especially reduce the emissions associated with fossil fuel extraction as quickly as possible) so that offsets aren’t necessary. But in practice, that may not be feasible within the time scales we are working with for dramatic climate mitigation (within the next 10-30 years). For sectors that are hard to decarbonize, such as shipping and aviation, offsets may be necessary to get to net zero.
Airlines, for example, are reducing their overall carbon footprint through offsets. Delta Airlines has announced plans to commit $100M over 10 years to cutting carbon emissions and becoming a "carbon neutral" airline, with other airlines following suit. But isn't offsetting just stalling the fundamental shifts needed to address the climate crisis?
Check out this video from Grist to learn more:
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