The risk is that trees planted as part of offsetting projects could become a source of emissions if they die prematurely. Changes in the climate mean that droughts and higher temperatures will strain forests in the future. When trees and plants die, whether from fires or logging or simply old age, most of the carbon they have trapped in their trunks, branches and leaves returns to the atmosphere. Even then, there is always the risk that these efforts will be wiped out by droughts, wildfires, tree diseases and deforestation. We would have to plant and protect a massive number of trees for decades to offset even a fraction of global emissions. Forests are one of our best lines of defence against climate change and restoring them is crucial, but this can’t be a substitute for reducing carbon emissions directly.Ī newly-planted tree can take as many as 20 years to capture the amount of CO2 that a carbon-offset scheme promises. Tree planting is frequently lauded by companies such as Shell and BP as the answer to the climate emergency. Oil giant BP runs a Target Neutral programme which incorporates a range of offsetting projects, including protecting forests in Brazil. Airports like Heathrow and airlines such as Easyjet offer a carbon offsetting service, allowing passengers to pay to plant up to 12 trees per month. Many companies use offsetting to appear environmentally friendly, even when their whole business is based around burning fossil fuels.

Planting trees can’t replace slashing carbon emissions As a result, offsetting allows companies like BP and Shell as well as airlines to continue with their unsustainable behaviour while shifting their responsibility for the climate onto the consumer. Instead, they’re a distraction from the real solutions to climate change. Offsetting projects simply don’t deliver what we need – a reduction in the carbon emissions entering the atmosphere. They don’t actually cancel out – er, offset – the emissions to which they are linked.

The big problem with offsets isn’t that what they offer is bad – tree planting or renewable energy and efficiency for poor communities are all good things – but rather that they don’t do what they say on the tin. Sadly, the way out of the climate emergency is just not that simple.ĭon’t get me wrong – protecting forests and restoring natural ecosystems is vital both for wildlife and the climate, but we should be doing that as well as cutting emissions directly, not as a substitute. For example, by planting trees to suck carbon out of the atmosphere as they grow, or by delivering energy-efficient cooking stoves to communities in developing countries. Offsetting is a way of paying for others to reduce emissions or absorb CO2 to compensate for your own emissions.

Best offset driver 2020