Why carbon offsetting doesn't cut it

Greenpeace asserts that voluntary net-zero commitments and carbon offsets are being used by corporations and governments to avoid necessary emissions cuts. The organization warns that nature-based offsetting in the global south risks human rights violations and shifts responsibility from wealthy nations to vulnerable communities. Greenpeace calls for binding laws, separate targets for industrial emissions and land use, and the rejection of a global carbon market under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to ensure environmental integrity and the protection of Indigenous rights.

• Carbon offsetting is characterized as a hypocritical mechanism that allows polluters to continue emitting carbon by paying others to reduce or remove it, serving as a "get-out-of-jail-free card" for elites and corporations.
• Net-zero pledges that rely on offsets are insufficient because they lack regulation, scrutiny, and concrete plans, often functioning as "greenwashing and distraction" for companies unwilling to sacrifice profits for climate action.
• Nature-based offsetting in the global south is criticized for potentially shifting the emissions responsibility of wealthy nations onto struggling regions and risking human rights transgressions against vulnerable communities and Indigenous Peoples.
• Greenpeace opposes the establishment of a global carbon market under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, arguing that such a market would place "excruciating pressure" on nature and Indigenous communities.
• To achieve genuine decarbonization, Greenpeace recommends binding laws with sanctions, such as prohibiting external dividends for climate-destroying corporations, and the implementation of transparent plans with separate targets for fossil fuel reductions and land-use impacts.

APA

Morgan, J. (2021). Why carbon offsetting doesn't cut it. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/greenpeace-international-carbon-offsetting-net-zero-pledges-climate-change-action/

Chicago

Morgan, Jennifer. Why carbon offsetting doesn't cut it. World Economic Forum, 2021. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/greenpeace-international-carbon-offsetting-net-zero-pledges-climate-change-action/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Morgan |first1=Jennifer |title=Why carbon offsetting doesn't cut it |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=22 September 2021 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/greenpeace-international-carbon-offsetting-net-zero-pledges-climate-change-action/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{morgan2021why, author = {Morgan, Jennifer}, title = {{Why carbon offsetting doesn't cut it}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/greenpeace-international-carbon-offsetting-net-zero-pledges-climate-change-action/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }