Was COP27 the beginning of the end for corporate offsetting?

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 …

Scoping voluntary corporate climate action in the European aviation sector

The beyond value chain mitigation (BCVM) approaches for eight European airlines, which were collectively responsible for over half of the total CO2e emissions of the aviation sector in the EU in 2019, were assessed in this study to provide insights with regards to both the extent and quality of efforts, beyond the value chain, to …

European airlines misleading customers with claims of “carbon-neutral” flights – study

A new study commissioned by Carbon Market Watch has revealed gaping holes in the effectiveness of voluntary climate action taken by eight major European airlines. Misleading claims of “carbon neutral” flying, a dependence on poor quality carbon offsets and the low cost of a tonne of CO2 that customers can pay to offset are just …

Carbon removals are no substitute for deep emissions reductions, warns IPCC

Carbon removals will become a vital tool for reducing carbon concentrations in the atmosphere but only massive cuts in emissions will give humanity a fighting chance of keeping global heating to 1.5°C or below, says the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The latest IPCC report, which was released in April, outlines various pathways …

Carbon Market Watch response to UK Climate Change Committee’s consultation: “Carbon Offsets call for evidence”

The UK Climate Change Committee recently issued a public consultation on the subject of “Carbon Offsets call for evidence”, which closed on 28 February 2022. The consultation covered the main risks and opportunities presented by voluntary carbon offsets, the quality and duration of offsets, voluntary offset market regulation and standards, Harnessing Financial Flows, and more.

Net-zero illusions: The rise of ‘carbon-neutral’ fossil fuels

Like dry water and hot snow, carbon-neutral fossil fuels are pipe dreams and marketing gimmicks that do nothing to protect the climate, a new Carbon Market Watch investigation reveals. Jonathan Crook investigates. In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new greenwashing trend spreading like wildfire. It consists of oil and gas giants, like Shell, Total, …

Net-zero pipe dreams: Carbon-neutral fossil fuel claims amount to greenwashing

A new Carbon Market Watch report thoroughly investigates the growing number of fossil fuels that are being marketed as “carbon neutral” and concludes that they amount to brazen greenwashing. Published ahead of the COP26, the document challenges governments and industry to halt greenwashing practices and commit to binding fossil fuel phaseouts. Today, Carbon Market Watch …

Letter from the International Coalition for Sustainable Aviation to the ICAO Council on the adoption of the Emissions Unit Criteria EUCs in order to address double counting and increase CORSIA’s transparency.

Dear ICAO Council Member, ICAO’S Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) is at a critical juncture. Your decisions this week could create a CORSIA with integrity, help international aviation achieve carbon-neutral growth from 2020 and help unleash a global market that drives investment in low-carbon economic development. But if you choose to …