· 2 min read
illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on Fast Company or enjoy below:
🗞️ Driving the news: A sweeping scientific review led by the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media concludes that carbon offsets have largely failed to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions over the past 25 years
• The $2 billion voluntary carbon market is plagued by fundamental flaws — including overestimated climate benefits, lack of additionality, impermanence, and poor oversight — rendering most offsets ineffective in addressing climate change
🔭 The context: Since their inception in the late 1990s, carbon offsets have been promoted as a cost-effective way for companies and countries to meet climate goals without directly reducing their own emissions
• However, studies have repeatedly questioned their credibility, particularly in the absence of enforceable regulations
• The latest review aggregates over 200 sources, including IPCC documents, to provide a comprehensive evaluation of offset shortcomings
🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The continued reliance on flawed offsets delays genuine emissions reductions and misleads stakeholders about climate progress
• Many offset projects — such as afforestation or renewable energy — would have occurred regardless, undermining their environmental value
• Furthermore, issues like wildfires destroying forest offsets and double-counting of credits threaten the integrity of global carbon accounting and climate targets
⏭️ What's next: The review calls for a strategic pivot away from offsets toward direct emissions reductions and robust climate action
• Policymakers and corporate leaders are urged to reassess net-zero strategies that rely heavily on offsetting and to invest instead in systemic decarbonization
• The findings may influence upcoming COP negotiations and pressure regulatory bodies to implement stricter standards or phase out ineffective offset schemes
💬 One quote: "At the end of the day, this comes down to: Everyone needs to get their own emissions as low as possible. There’s no offloading this problem on someone else." – Joseph Romm, Lead Author and Senior Research Fellow
📈 One stat: The global voluntary carbon market is estimated at $2 billion, yet has failed to produce measurable reductions in global emissions over 25 years
See on illuminem's Data Hub™ the sustainability performance of Amazon, FedEx and its peers: UPS, DHL, and Microsoft
Click for more news covering the latest on carbon market
