The Carbon Neutral Myth

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Carbon offsets are the modern day indulgences, sold to an increasingly carbon conscious public to absolve their climate sins. Scratch the surface, however, and a disturbing picture emerges, where creative accountancy and elaborate shell games cover up the impossibility of verifying genuine climate change benefits, and where communities in the South often have little choice as offset projects are inflicted on them.
This report argues that offsets place disproportionate emphasis on individual lifestyles and carbon footprints, distracting attention from the wider, systemic changes and collective political action that needs to be taken to tackle climate change. Promoting more effective and empowering approaches involves moving away from the marketing gimmicks, celebrity endorsements, technological quick fixes, and the North/South exploitation that the carbon offsets industry embodies.
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Introduction
1 Corrupting the Climate Change Debate
2 The Rise and Fall of Future Forests
3 The problems with trees and light bulbs
4 Three Case Studies in the Majority World
- India - "Rock Band Capitalist Tool For Cutting CO2"
- Land rights in Uganda
- Energy efficient light bulbs in South Africa
5 Celebrities and Climate Change
6 Positive responses to climate change
Appendix - Offsets and "future value accounting"
Notes
Contact kevin [at] carbontradewatch.org