Wednesday 9 March 2022

Organising Offsets?

The chair of the Energy Transitions Commission thinktank maintains that removing atmospheric carbon dioxide will be essential to meet global climate targets (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/09/carbon-dioxide-removed-from-air-carbon-offset-market-report). The major methods of carbon offsetting currently involve tree planting and carbon capture, followed by underground storage. The Energy Transitions Commission feel that merely switching to renewables will not create enough carbon savings, to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Centigrade above pre-industrial levels. They note, however, that carbon offset markets are a bit 'wild west'. It is often difficult to determine a) their precise effectiveness and b) whether their claims are realistic. The solution, according to the Energy Transitions Commission, is to regulate carbon offset markets more effectively. They suggest that satellite monitoring can be used, for example, to confirm the planting of populations of trees as well as assessing how long they remain in place. One has to ask the question, however, whether (even with better regulation) it is a good idea to leave carbon offsetting to the markets?

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