We’ve often compared carbon dioxide (CO2) offsets, or carbon credits, as akin to the practice of the Catholic Church selling indulgences in the Middle Ages to absolve you of your sins (see our stories here). But that doesn’t really work, does it? Your sins don’t magically go away if you pay money. It’s the same with carbon offsets or carbon credits. Companies that buy an offset can keep right on “polluting” or emitting CO2. The overall level of CO2 “pollution” doesn’t change. Paying someone to plant a few trees or use a contraption to suck the CO2 back out of the atmosphere is a scam. A lie. And now, the companies formed to traffic in carbon offsets are being exposed as the frauds they are.
We’ve often compared carbon dioxide (CO2) offsets, or carbon credits, as akin to the practice of the Catholic Church selling indulgences in the Middle Ages to absolve you of your sins (