Carbon offsets: a licence to pollute or a path to net zero emissions?
01/09/2021
Can planting trees in Guizhou province cancel out emissions from natural gas burned for energy in offices and homes across China? That is the idea behind a deal struck in July by oil major Shell to supply PetroChina with an undisclosed quantity of liquefied natural gas branded “carbon neutral”.
The deal was part of a nascent but growing trend, in which fossil fuel shipments are paired with carbon offsets — units that organisations can buy to compensate for their emissions and help their carbon-intensive cargoes appear greener.
“With this deal, PetroChina will be able to provide carbon-neutral gas to Chinese businesses and households in line with China’s 2060 carbon-neutrality aspirations,” Shell explained: the trees would absorb millions of tonnes of carbon over the coming years, balancing out the pollution from the production and use of the fuel.
“This is the latest attempt to try to market fossil fuels of any type as part of the transition [to clean energy],” says Gilles Dufrasne, of the not-for-profit group Carbon Market Watch. “I don't think there is such a thing as a ‘carbon neutral’ fossil fuel, it’s a bit of an oxymoron.” [...]
Financial Times
> Read the article
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The deal was part of a nascent but growing trend, in which fossil fuel shipments are paired with carbon offsets — units that organisations can buy to compensate for their emissions and help their carbon-intensive cargoes appear greener.
“With this deal, PetroChina will be able to provide carbon-neutral gas to Chinese businesses and households in line with China’s 2060 carbon-neutrality aspirations,” Shell explained: the trees would absorb millions of tonnes of carbon over the coming years, balancing out the pollution from the production and use of the fuel.
“This is the latest attempt to try to market fossil fuels of any type as part of the transition [to clean energy],” says Gilles Dufrasne, of the not-for-profit group Carbon Market Watch. “I don't think there is such a thing as a ‘carbon neutral’ fossil fuel, it’s a bit of an oxymoron.” [...]
Financial Times
> Read the article
