The Dark Side of Carbon Offsetting

Carbon offsetting is sadly not the get-out-of-eco-jail-free card that some people think it is.

Whether you’re a frequent flyer looking to make up for the environmental sins of your trips around the world, a heavy-polluting fossil-fuel-based corporation, or just someone who gets their Etsy packages delivered, you’ve probably heard of carbon offsetting.

Image: author’s own, made with Canva

But, so that we’re all on the same page: what is carbon offsetting?

Well there’s no concrete definition — everyone has their own ideas of what ‘counts’ as carbon offsetting and what doesn’t — but I can give you the basics.

Carbon offsetting, as far as I understand it, is where someone — sometimes an individual, but more commonly a business or organisation — attempts to counteract their carbon footprint by supporting environmental projects.

This support often comes in the form of… (paying to make the problem go away) …investing.