Legal risks of carbon offsets

The document argues that carbon offsets are scientifically flawed and act as a barrier to necessary emissions reductions, exposing companies to significant legal risks including consumer protection lawsuits, regulatory enforcement, and shareholder actions.

• Carbon offsets are scientifically flawed because they rely on 'additionality' theories that are uncertain, whereas fossil fuel emissions are certain. Furthermore, the storage of CO2 in trees is temporary ('permanence') compared to the hundreds of years CO2 remains in the atmosphere, and the system is plagued by double counting and a lack of regulation.
• The use of 'carbon neutral' labels on high-carbon products—such as airline flights, car petrol, and liquid natural gas (LNG)—distracts from the required phase-out of these products and blocks the societal transformation needed for decarbonisation.

APA

ClientEarth (2022). Legal risks of carbon offsets. https://www.clientearth.org/media/lcvhm5uw/carbon-offsets-legal-risk-briefing.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Legal risks of carbon offsets. 2022. https://www.clientearth.org/media/lcvhm5uw/carbon-offsets-legal-risk-briefing.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Legal risks of carbon offsets |date=September 2022 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/lcvhm5uw/carbon-offsets-legal-risk-briefing.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2022legal, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Legal risks of carbon offsets}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/lcvhm5uw/carbon-offsets-legal-risk-briefing.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }