Occidental Fleeces Microsoft into Buying Carbon Indulgences

Maybe the oil and gas industry will get the last laugh after all. We’ve written many posts comparing carbon offsets/credits 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. 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. Typically, oil and gas companies buy such offsets to "prove" they are worthy of continuing to extract oil and gas. This time around, it's an oil company that's doing the selling!

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