Are carbon offsets a genuine climate solution or just a convenient accounting trick?
In short: Professor Myles Allen examines the controversial role of carbon credit markets in net-zero strategies. This lecture explores whether offsetting truly compensates for emissions or if it obscures the real work needed to address fossil fuel reliance.
Carbon offsetting is widely integrated into modern climate plans, often presented as an efficient way to manage emissions deemed unavoidable. However, this raises a fundamental question: who defines which emissions are truly impossible to eliminate? The lecture investigates various approaches, ranging from compensation schemes to large-scale tree planting initiatives.
Delivered on 4th March 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London, the talk is led by Myles Allen, the Frank Jackson Foundation Professor of the Environment and Director of the Oxford Net Zero initiative. Allen, who received a CBE in 2022 for his work on climate change attribution and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2023, provides a critical look at the mechanisms underpinning our global climate goals.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Carbon Offsetting: Does It Really Work? - Myles Allen
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