Europe's biggest oil company quietly shelves a radical plan to shrink its carbon footprint

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🗞️ Driving the news: Six months after taking charge as CEO of Shell Plc, Wael Sawan discreetly ended the world's largest corporate carbon offset initiative, once heralded as a major part of Shell’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050
• The revised Shell strategy now leans heavily on cost-cutting and profit-making sectors such as oil and gas

🔭 The context: Shell aimed to invest $100 million annually in carbon credits, targeting 120 million credits yearly by decade's end
• However, they've struggled to use even half of this budget on quality projects recently

🌎 Why does it matter for the planet: The retreat from the offset initiative reflects a tension in the business world between quality and volume of carbon offsets

⏭️ What's next: Shell hasn't disclosed its updated plans for carbon offset development or how it will honor its future climate promises
• Their change of direction is part of a broader scrutiny of carbon offsets as a viable climate solution

💬 One quote: "It's really hard to get scale from high-quality credits." (Gilles Dufrasne, Carbon Market Watch)

📈 One stat: The voluntary carbon market, currently worth about $2 billion, is predicted to surge to a staggering $950 billion by 2037, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance

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