Exposing rainforest carbon credits: why offsetting isn’t working

Companies across the world rely on carbon offsetting credits as a way to display their green credentials, but a Guardian analysis of scientific studies has found that many rainforest carbon credits are worthless. The investigation into Verra, which is the world’s leading carbon standard for the offsetting market, found that the vast majority of credits being bought are likely to be “phantom credits”.

Verra has argued that the studies’ conclusions are incorrect, and questioned the methodology used. It also argues that its work has channelled billions of dollars into rainforest protection.

Patrick Greenfield, the biodiversity reporter for the Guardian’s Age of Extinction project, tells Michael Safi about how he conducted the investigation in collaboration with the German weekly Die Zeit and SourceMaterial, a non-profit investigative journalism organisation.

Greenfield explains why we should not rely on such credits to tackle the climate crisis, and why the focus should be on decarbonisation.

Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images/AFP

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