Do your homework before you buy carbon offsets — will they do what they promise?
- Media Manager
- Oct 15, 2023
- 2 min read
WUNC 91.5
Written By: David Boraks
Published: October 16th, 2023
Hundreds of companies nationwide are buying carbon offsets these days to make up for the carbon emissions from their buildings, vehicles and travel. The goal is to reach "net zero" carbon emissions — at least on paper. But there's a lot of skepticism about their value.
In a radio story last week, I looked at how offsets are being used in North Carolina and how companies are thinking about them in light of investigations that cast doubts about their value.
It's a question not only for corporate buyers — but also for consumers — as we're being invited regularly now to purchase offsets to make up for the carbon emissions in our daily activities.
Carbon offsets for your flight
When you buy an airline ticket these days, you're offered a chance to offset the climate pollution from burning jet fuel. Most airlines have arrangements with companies that sell offsets, so you can just add it to your cart when you buy your ticket.
I tried this out when I flew to Boise, Idaho, this spring for the Society of Environmental Journalists annual meeting. I bought a carbon offset through American Airlines' nonprofit partner, Cool Effect, for $27.63, to cover about 1.9 tons of CO2.
The whole process was easy. Did I get what I was paying for? The company says it "triple verifies" the science behind its offsets. They say they spend the money on projects such as planting trees in Alaska or replacing polluting cookstoves in Honduras. You can see a gallery of projects on its website.
But news organizations and others have investigated and concluded that many of these programs may not be worth it.
