How offsetting threatens even the most ambitious carbon pricing initiatives

The document critiques the use of carbon offsetting within carbon pricing schemes, asserting that it allows entities to avoid genuine emission reductions. It highlights that while the EU has excluded international offsets for post-2020 domestic targets, Canada and China continue to support or allow them. The author specifically warns that the International Civil Aviation Organisation's (ICAO) planned sector-wide offsetting scheme risks using low-quality credits to bypass the polluter pays principle. Referencing a European Commission study, the text claims only 2% of UN Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects clearly reduce emissions.

• Carbon offsetting is described as an outdated mechanism that allows countries or sectors to pay others to reduce emissions rather than implementing their own reductions, thereby threatening the integrity of ambitious carbon pricing systems.
• A European Commission study indicated that only 2% of offsetting projects under the UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) resulted in clear emission reductions, and many were associated with human rights violations.
• There are divergent approaches to offsets among major carbon pricing jurisdictions: the EU has opted not to use international offsets for domestic post-2020 targets, whereas Canada allows them in its national scheme and China seeks to maintain the current system as a major credit source.
• The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is developing a sector-wide offsetting scheme that risks utilizing cheap, low-quality offsets to avoid obligations based on the polluter pays principle.

APA

Dufrasne, G. (2018). How offsetting threatens even the most ambitious carbon pricing initiatives. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2018/06/19/an-elephant-in-the-room/

Chicago

Dufrasne, Gilles. How offsetting threatens even the most ambitious carbon pricing initiatives. Carbon Market Watch, 2018. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2018/06/19/an-elephant-in-the-room/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Dufrasne |first1=Gilles |title=How offsetting threatens even the most ambitious carbon pricing initiatives |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=19 June 2018 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2018/06/19/an-elephant-in-the-room/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{dufrasne2018how, author = {Dufrasne, Gilles}, title = {{How offsetting threatens even the most ambitious carbon pricing initiatives}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2018}, month = jun, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2018/06/19/an-elephant-in-the-room/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }