Listen to the science

Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Board of Trustees’ decision on offsetting undermines science and endangers the climate

Carbon Market Watch strongly condemns the SBTi Board of Trustees’ announcement to recognise carbon credits as a way to “abate” scope 3 emissions. These indirect, value chain emissions usually make up the lion’s share of a company’s carbon footprint.

Cardamom picking dance

More harm, more foul: Carbon crediting project exposes widespread human rights violations

Human rights violations committed against the Chong people in Cambodia are indicative of a wider malaise afflicting carbon crediting projects. Not only must the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities be safeguarded, they must also profit from fair benefit sharing arrangements.

COP28: Article 6 failure avoids a worse outcome 

Torn between countries demanding that Article 6 carbon markets be available with virtually no restrictions and countries insisting on upholding transparency, human rights, and climate ambition, negotiators at COP28 failed to break the deadlock. With all the unresolved problematic issues, the fact that they reached no deal was better than agreeing to a bad one that would torpedo the Paris Agreement.

Cause and effect

Correlation or causation: Is there a link between carbon offsetting and climate ambition?

A spate of recent studies are being used to claim a causal link for companies that offset their emissions between their use of carbon credits and their rate of internal decarbonisation. However, the available evidence tells a different story about whether or not companies exploit carbon markets as a licence to pollute.