En busca de unicornios de carbono: el engaño de los mercados de carbono y la reducción de emisiones a “Cero Neto”

The document critiques the concept of 'net zero' and the use of carbon offsetting, distinguishing between 'real zero' (actual emission elimination) and 'false zero' (reliance on offsets). It asserts that carbon markets and 'nature-based solutions' are used as distractions by the fossil fuel industry and financial sectors to maintain the status quo, which risks further land grabbing and the violation of Indigenous and local community rights. The report emphasizes that fossil carbon cannot be simply absorbed by the biosphere and calls for a coordinated phase-out of fossil fuels and a transition to a climate-just economy.

• The report distinguishes between 'real zero' and 'false zero' strategies, stating that 'false zero' relies on carbon offsetting rather than actual emission reductions, while 'real zero' requires emissions to reach zero or as close to zero as possible.
• Carbon offsetting does not actually reduce total atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and serves as a distraction from the need to eliminate fossil fuel emissions.
• There is a fundamental scientific difference between the active carbon cycle and fossil carbon; fossil carbon is released from deposits stored for millions of years and cannot be effectively 'recycled' by natural ecosystems without causing significant stress, such as ocean acidification.
• The report claims that 'nature-based solutions' and carbon offsets lead to the 'financialization of nature' and trigger massive land grabbing from Indigenous peoples, peasants, and local communities, primarily in the Global South.
• The financial sector, through initiatives like the Task Force on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM), is attempting to standardize and expand voluntary carbon markets to profit from the increasing corporate demand for 'net zero' offsets.
• Major fossil fuel companies such as Shell, Eni, and Total are accused of using 'net zero' promises to mask their continued exploration and production of fossil fuels.
• The land area required to sequester just 2 Gt of CO2 per year through ecosystem restoration is estimated at 678 million hectares, which is approximately double the land area of India.
• Technologies for 'negative emissions' such as BECCS and DACCS are described as 'carbon unicorns' because they are not yet proven, validated, or safe for long-term storage at the required scale.
• National governments are using 'net zero' targets as accounting tricks to hide fossil fuel emissions by blending them with land-use emissions into a single figure.

APA

Stabinsky, D., Bhatnagar, D., & Shaw, S. (2021). En busca de unicornios de carbono: el engaño de los mercados de carbono y la reducción de emisiones a “Cero Neto”. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Amigos-de-la-tierra-internacional-unicornios-de-carbono-espanol.pdf

Chicago

Stabinsky, Doreen, Dipti Bhatnagar, and Sara Shaw. En busca de unicornios de carbono: el engaño de los mercados de carbono y la reducción de emisiones a “Cero Neto”. Friends of the Earth International, 2021. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Amigos-de-la-tierra-internacional-unicornios-de-carbono-espanol.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Stabinsky |first1=Doreen |last2=Bhatnagar |first2=Dipti |last3=Shaw |first3=Sara |title=En busca de unicornios de carbono: el engaño de los mercados de carbono y la reducción de emisiones a “Cero Neto” |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=February 2021 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Amigos-de-la-tierra-internacional-unicornios-de-carbono-espanol.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stabinsky2021busca, author = {Stabinsky, Doreen and Bhatnagar, Dipti and Shaw, Sara}, title = {{En busca de unicornios de carbono: el engaño de los mercados de carbono y la reducción de emisiones a “Cero Neto”}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Amigos-de-la-tierra-internacional-unicornios-de-carbono-espanol.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }