{"id":5112,"date":"2023-07-04T01:33:31","date_gmt":"2023-07-04T01:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/advisory\/?p=5112"},"modified":"2024-03-09T21:40:33","modified_gmt":"2024-03-09T21:40:33","slug":"cada-dia-hay-mas-empresas-en-problemas-en-peru-por-que-que-hacer-para-solucionarlo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/2023\/07\/04\/cada-dia-hay-mas-empresas-en-problemas-en-peru-por-que-que-hacer-para-solucionarlo\/","title":{"rendered":"Companies Are Dropping Carbon Offsets, But Still Buying the Worst Ones"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Companies Are Dropping Carbon Offsets, But Still Buying the Worst Ones<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Purchases of carbon offsets fell for the first time in at least a decade last year, according to an analysis of 260,000 publicly available transactions.<\/span><\/p>

By\u00a0Natasha White<\/a>,\u00a0Akshat Rathi<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0Demetrios Pogkas<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Carbon offsets<\/a>\u00a0once looked primed for unstoppable growth. Analysts had forecast that the credits, which claim to wipe out a ton of emissions, would be worth hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming years. But companies are starting to cool on the market as it faces\u00a0increasingly sharp criticism<\/a>\u00a0from scientists and experts.<\/p>

Purchases by banks, airlines, industrial heavyweights and other businesses fell for the first time last year, according to\u00a0Bloomberg Green<\/em>\u2019s analysis of data in three public registries covering more than 260,000 transactions since 2010. The 17% drop in demand for all offsets in 2022 from 2021 doesn\u2019t reflect the impact from more negative events this year, such as the\u00a0collapse of the world\u2019s second-biggest project<\/a>\u00a0and revelations of\u00a0questionable practices<\/a>\u00a0within the unregulated industry.<\/p>

COP28 Daily Reports:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Sign up for the Green Daily newsletter<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>for comprehensive coverage of the climate summit right in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>

Within this shifting trajectory for the carbon market and growing questions about its efficacy, buyers haven\u2019t necessarily been switching to higher-quality offsets. Even as transactions declined last year, corporate buyers increased purchases of offsets derived from a\u00a0particularly controversial source<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 wind, hydro and solar projects. Most experts have written off these renewable energy credits because power from these sources is already the cheapest option in most parts of the world. That means any extra funding from the sale of carbon offsets won\u2019t move the needle on emissions.

Renewable-energy offsets made up about half of all purchases last year, up from 38% in 2021. That increase surprised Lambert Schneider, a carbon markets expert at the German nonprofit \u00d6ko-Institut. \u201cIt’s really well known today that these credits have serious integrity issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>

Renewable-Energy Projects Prevail in the Carbon Offsets Market<\/h3><\/figure>

Total carbon offset purchases, by calendar year<\/p><\/div><\/div>

Follow all new stories by\u00a0<\/span>Natasha White<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Some of the biggest corporate buyers have begun to distance themselves from such offsets. The British budget airline EasyJet Plc. said in September 2022 that it would\u00a0stop using most carbon credits<\/a>\u00a0to reach its goal of zeroing out carbon emissions by mid-century. Instead, the airline would focus on finding ways to reduce pollution from its operations, such as investing in sustainable aviation fuel or hydrogen technology.<\/p>


But that hasn\u2019t stopped the airline from offering the same offsets directly to its customers. On a\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0jointly run by EasyJet and South Pole, the world\u2019s top seller of carbon offsets, visitors can calculate the carbon footprint of their flights and purchase credits to make up for those emissions. One of the projects that customers can support is a wind farm in Argentina, for \u00a35 ($6.30) a ton of CO2 equivalent. (South Pole\u2019s chief executive recently stepped down following months of allegations about its business practices, including an\u00a0investigation by\u00a0Bloomberg Green<\/em><\/a>.)<\/p>

Are \u2018Carbon Offsets\u2019 a Credible Climate Solution?: QuickTake<\/a><\/p>

Who Is Buying Bogus Carbon Offsets<\/h3>

Total carbon offsets bought in 2022 and the share coming from renewable-energy projects for a selection of big buyers<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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EasyJet doesn\u2019t make any revenue from these sales and won\u2019t deduct any carbon from its own emissions ledger,\u00a0<\/strong>according to a company spokesperson. \u201cWe know some customers would like the option to use carbon offsetting and so we simply offer customers the option to voluntarily offset their flight,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>

Chinese tech firm Lenovo Group Ltd. also dropped offsets from its net-zero plan but\u00a0sells them \u201cas a service,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0according to a spokesperson who described them as \u201ctools for customers wanting to do more.\u201d JetBlue Airways Corp. has also ditched most offsets for its own domestic emissions but offers a similar service via a\u00a0third-party platform<\/a>. It\u2019s also set up a new platform to let passengers\u00a0buy sustainable aviation fuel<\/a>. JetBlue and Lenovo said Bloomberg\u2019s data analysis doesn\u2019t accurately reflect their offsetting strategy.<\/p>

In other words, the companies decided some offsets weren\u2019t good enough to meet their own climate goals \u2014 and yet have continued selling them to customers as a feel-good solution. \u201cIt\u2019s often a lie because the credits don\u2019t represent their claimed emissions reductions,\u201d said Barbara Haya, director at the Berkeley Carbon Trading Project. \u201cThe whole idea that you could fly and drive a gas car guilt-free is simply not accurate.\u201d<\/p>

The contradictory moves show how the market for carbon offsets has become a headache for companies that bought into the alluring premise that they could continue emitting carbon as long as they purchased these cheap credits in return.<\/p>

The problem is that the bulk of offsets available today don\u2019t remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, they only purport to avoid releasing more CO2. That undermines the fundamental idea behind offsetting: you take one molecule of CO2 out of the global total for every molecule you put in.<\/p>

On top of that, journalists and nonprofits have unearthed problems with dozens of projects all over the world, ranging from false promises to\u00a0profiteering<\/a>\u00a0by middlemen and\u00a0coercive tactics<\/a>\u00a0used to secure land and cooperation from\u00a0local communities<\/a>.<\/p>

Just a few years ago so many businesses were banking on offsets as a climate solution that demand was projected to skyrocket. A taskforce of companies and sustainability experts seeking to grow the market forecast in 2021 that it could be worth $100 billion by the end of the decade. Barclays Plc has since put the figure at\u00a0$250 billion<\/a>. The outlook is so uncertain that BloombergNEF says offsets could make anywhere between $15 billion by 2030 and even a mind-boggling\u00a0$1 trillion<\/a>\u00a0by 2037 if carbon-removal technologies take off.<\/p>

Wildly Different Forecasts<\/h3>

Analysts have varying projections for the size of the voluntary carbon offset market in 2030<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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But the recent developments have made buyers more cautious. \u201cWhat we’ve seen over the last year in voluntary carbon markets is an erosion of confidence on the corporate side,\u201d said Eron Bloomgarden, founder of Emergent, a nonprofit that facilitates offsets trading. An analysis by\u00a0Carbon Direct<\/a>, a carbon management firm, said \u201creputational backlash\u201d against buyers of poor-quality credits \u2014 coupled with global macroeconomic headwinds \u2014 will probably further decrease usage this year.<\/p>

Purchases driven primarily by branding \u2014 such as companies who use offsets to label certain products \u201ccarbon neutral\u201d or \u201cnet zero\u201d \u2014 are now forecast by BloombergNEF to fade away entirely by mid-century. At the same time, many companies with net-zero goals will still rely offsets to address the last sliver of emissions that can\u2019t be eliminated through new technologies or operational changes. BloombergNEF puts that demand at 1.1 billion tons by 2030 and 5.4 billion tons by 2050.<\/p>

\u201cNo company can reach net zero \u2014 a goal thousands of corporations are striving for \u2014 without carbon offsets,\u201d said Kyle Harrison, head of sustainability research at BloombergNEF.<\/p>

Listen to a conversation on\u00a0<\/em>Zero Podcast with Mark Trexler<\/em><\/a>, who was involved in building the very first offset project in 1988.<\/em><\/p>

Many companies are already pledging that they will shift their purchases to more expensive offsets that go to projects which remove CO2 from the atmosphere, either through planting trees or facilities that capture carbon from the air. But some businesses have been slower to adapt.<\/p>

At least half of the carbon offsets used last year couldn\u2019t be attributed back to a buyer. Still, the public databases list the names of hundreds of companies that continue to purchase credits and make bold climate claims.<\/p>

Bloomberg Green<\/em>\u00a0contacted dozens of the biggest companies that made some of the largest renewable offset purchases. Responses fell into three broad categories: ditching offset use, investing directly in projects to boost oversight, and doubling down. Many declined to comment.<\/p>

How Companies Responded to Bloomberg Green\u2019s Investigation<\/h3>

Unlike some of their peers, Etsy, Inc. and\u00a0Estee Lauder<\/a>\u00a0are among the large companies that continue to use offsets to underpin claims of \u201ccarbon neutrality.\u201d Others, including TotalEnergies, are developing their own green projects in the hopes that they\u2019ll have better oversight.<\/p>

These initiatives haven\u2019t always panned out. Volkswagen teamed up with ClimatePartner GmbH to generate offsets so it can be \u201cindependent from the market where you can\u2019t control what\u2019s effective and what\u2019s not,\u201d said Esra Aydin, a spokesperson for the automaker. But the credits didn\u2019t materialize in time last year and it ended up going back to the voluntary market where cheap renewable-energy credits were the only ones that worked with its budget.<\/p>

Some of the companies that defended the use of offsets pointed to globally recognized benchmarks and disputed criticism that some projects don\u2019t result in significant changes to the climate. Banco Votorantim said it aimed to only acquire credits tied to certain standards and from various technologies. A Telstra spokesperson disputed \u201cthe premise that all renewable offsets are \u2018junk\u2019,\u201d and said the company will continue to explore projects that \u201cboth remove carbon and provide biodiversity outcomes.\u201d<\/p>

Some buyers are banking on new standards to bolster the market\u2019s credibility, such as\u00a0recently published guidelines<\/a>\u00a0by the ICVCM, an industry-led group. Negotiators at the upcoming United Nations-backed COP28 climate summit in Dubai\u00a0will debate rules<\/a>\u00a0that could grow a separate market for offsets that are traded between countries.<\/p>

Until then, the industry faces new pressures. A\u00a0class-action lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0targeting Delta\u2019s former carbon-neutral claim could set a precedent that threatens other companies. US regulators have launched a rare call for whistleblowers to help root out fraud in the market, and the European Union recently agreed on rules to ban misleading environmental marketing.<\/p>

After two decades of research on the carbon market, experts like Schneider and Haya are pessimistic that things will improve. \u201cYou have large amounts of uncertainty that’s being deliberated by a set of market players that all benefit from more credits,\u201d said Haya. \u201cIt’s really hard to reign that back. The market has disproved itself and we need to move on to something different.\u201d<\/p>

For a detailed methodology of how Bloomberg Green calculates the share of offset purchases<\/em>\u00a0that comes from renewable-energy projects, you can visit our\u00a0<\/em>original analysis from November 2022<\/a>. In this update, data for the majority of corporate buyers comes from three public registries (CDM, Gold Standard and Verra). Data for EasyJet and Volkswagen is from those companies’ responses to Bloomberg Green. Data for La Poste and VistaJet combines the companies\u2019 responses with registry data. La Poste provided the figure for total offset purchases and said that the “vast majority” of those come from renewable-energy projects.<\/em><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\nPurchases of carbon offsets fell for the first time in at least a decade last year, according to an analysis of 260,000 publicly available transactions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","post_format-post-format-image"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2000x1334.jpg",2000,1334,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2000x1334.jpg",2000,1334,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2000x1334.jpg",2000,1334,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2000x1334-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2000x1334-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"large":["https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2000x1334-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2000x1334-1536x1025.jpg",1536,1025,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2000x1334.jpg",2000,1334,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Area Marketing","author_link":"https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/author\/marketing\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"NEWS ENG<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Edit Column Edit Text Editor Purchases of carbon offsets fell for the first time in at least a decade last year, according to an analysis of 260,000 publicly available transactions.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5112"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5265,"href":"https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5112\/revisions\/5265"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-nnovagroup.com\/environment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}