Above and Beyond Carbon Offsetting

The policy brief contends that relying on carbon offsets to meet climate targets is risky and unsustainable due to issues with environmental integrity and the risk of 'double counting' under the Paris Agreement. It argues that offsets can displace domestic climate action and mask the scale of the climate crisis by offering a cheap alternative to deep sectoral transformation. To address these failures, the document proposes shifting from a 'compensation' model to a 'contribution' model, where companies fund host country climate efforts without claiming carbon neutrality. Additionally, it suggests 'practice-based credits' that reward the implementation of sustainable practices rather than quantified results, which is particularly useful for land-use projects where permanence is difficult to guarantee. The brief emphasizes that these alternatives better align with sustainable development goals and protect companies from reputational risks associated with fraudulent offsetting claims.

• Carbon offsets are considered a risky climate strategy because they may lack environmental integrity and can lead to the lock-in of high-carbon and stranded assets in the medium term.
• The use of offsets in carbon pricing policies often serves to reduce the burden on private companies and can create resistance to the drastic measures required for a rapid climate transformation.
• Under the Paris Agreement, voluntary carbon market offsets risk 'double counting' if the host country uses the same emission reductions to meet its own Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) while a company claims them for compensation.
• A 'contribution claim' model is proposed as a credible alternative where companies fund climate action to support a host country's Paris Agreement goals without claiming to be carbon neutral or to have financed 'extra' reductions.
• The document suggests 'practice-based credits' as a way to finance climate action by rewarding the adoption of specific practices rather than quantified results, which is especially suited for the land-use sector where permanence is hard to prove.
• Current carbon offset models often prioritize the cheapest possible reductions, which can neglect sustainable development co-benefits and potentially deprive developing countries of the easiest abatement options needed for their own targets.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2020). Above and Beyond Carbon Offsetting. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AboveAndBeyondCarbonOffsetting.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Above and Beyond Carbon Offsetting. 2020. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AboveAndBeyondCarbonOffsetting.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Above and Beyond Carbon Offsetting |date=December 2020 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AboveAndBeyondCarbonOffsetting.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carbonmarketwatch2020above, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Above and Beyond Carbon Offsetting}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AboveAndBeyondCarbonOffsetting.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }