Offsetting & Greenwashing - A Modern Fairy Tale

Offsetting Source "How Bad are Bananas" - Prof Mike Berners Lee 

"Can carbon be offset? - it is a nonsense - cheap offset options (are) fatally flawed - we can't just use them to counterbalance our emissions. The only genuine offset is removal of CO2 or other greenhouse gases, taking them out of the atmosphere & storing them permanently. There is no substitute for cutting our carbon footprint". 

"We should not fall for the idea that we can offset our footprint, as is often offered by airlines, often at absurdly low cost. The test for a legitimate offset is that it must actually remove carbon".

We need to have a realistic conversation about what "necessary flights" are.

Greenwashing Sources - https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/greenwashing  Shout Out U K - SOUK 

"Claims are often based on questionable plans, including emissions offsetting and “insetting” – rather than actual emission cuts. As such, the transparency and integrity of such claims remain critically low and risk creating a failure to deliver urgent climate action".

"Greenwashing is a marketing tactic where a company makes misleading claims about its environmental impact or the environmental friendliness of its products. The goal is to convince consumers that a company is more environmentally conscious than it actually is". 

"In 2020, a suit of consumer protection agencies gathered to carry out the survey that would turn to evidence of the wrongdoings of large UK businesses undertaking greenwashing practices. Hence, the study discovered that four in 10 international companies made deceptive statements. Greenwashing promotes false solutions to the climate crisis that distract from and delay concrete and credible action".

10 worst greenwashing companies Source - Earth.org;-

Volkswagen

BP

Exxon Mobil

Nestle

Coca Cola

Starbicks

Ikea

Plastic Bottle Water Companies

Major Banks

Fast Fashion Brands 

 

We have all the evidence we need, but we desperately need more action. But it isn't enough to say our politicians are not doing enough. They aren't. But neither are we on an individual level. Every single one of us needs to look at our lives & assess what we are doing, regularly, to stop the escalating & devastating effects of climate change. 

We will only solve this if we are all really well informed & are prepared to change our unsustainable habits.