Although the European Commission understands the problems created by greenwashing, its proposed Green Claims Directive will not end these damaging practices.
Major corporations are making disingenuous ‘net zero’ and ‘carbon neutral’ claims based on dubious emissions offsetting practices rather than actual cuts. This cannot continue.
Carbon removals are not meant as a tool for corporate greenwashing or climate inaction. They should only be used to reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The 2023 edition of the Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor (CCRM) assesses the transparency and quality of the climate strategies of 24 major global corporations. Only one …
Despite claiming to be champions of climate action, two dozen of the world’s largest and richest corporations are hiding their climate inaction behind the fig leaf of green-sounding ‘net zero’ plans, concludes the 2023 edition of the Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor. For that reason, governments must stop their dithering and regulate robustly what green claims companies are permitted to make.
A new type of carbon credit created at the Sharm el-Sheikh climate conference provides an overdue alternative to the offset claim. This signals a path towards more honest climate accounting and fewer loopholes for potential greenwashing. The outcome on carbon markets at COP27 was generally poor. Negotiators failed to set basic oversight and transparency checks …
Read more “Was COP27 the beginning of the end for corporate offsetting?“
Voluntary carbon market standards promising tonne-for-tonne compensation and exact measurement of impact are attempting to square the circle, argues Gilles Dufrasne. One solution is to drop offsetting claims and offer credits as financial contributions to climate action. Last week marked the closing of the public consultation on quality criteria for carbon credits by a new …
Fossil fuel companies across Europe raked in huge profits last quarter, including Italian energy giant Eni, whose net profits quadrupled while low-income Italians struggled to pay their energy bills. The EU must make the polluters pay and not the most vulnerable in our society. Italy is a country where people spend proportionately more of their …
Read more “Energy markets are not cash machines for milking low-income households”
In a democratic debate, should everyone get an equal say or should those with money be given a soapbox and loudhailer? The answer to this question is obvious, yet it appears to have eluded Politico Europe, one of the main players on the Brussels media stage. On 28 March 2022, Politico organised a virtual debate …
Read more “April newsletter editorial: Panel debate on ETS comes straight from polluter’s pocket”
The proliferation of dubious green claims by companies has sparked renewed concern about the lack of adequate regulation to prevent greenwashing and the low compliance with existing rules. Regulators are starting to revise outdated provisions, while NGOs are suing companies over misleading advertisements. The European Commission published yesterday (30 March 2022) a new proposal to …
Instead of cleaning up their businesses and business models to tackle climate change, top corporations are engaging in cosmetic change and greenwashing to improve their image. Why is this? Climate action is in the air. Like governments around the world, major corporations are falling over themselves to issue climate pledges and, in keeping with being …
Read more “Greenwashing exposes climate of corporate inaction”
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