Carbon offsetting schemes are all well and good...

...but do little to change the way people live day-to-day, argues Stefaan Simons. In this week's Green Room, he says instead of wasting money on short-term solutions, attention should be focused on developments that can really deliver a low carbon future.

Credible carbon cuts
However, for offsetting to work, companies offering such services must be able to show how they are adding value and actually offsetting the carbon that is being emitted.

For example, it is no good simply planting a few trees to compensate for someone taking a flight. Ultimately, those trees will die, rotting down, releasing carbon, and once again adding to the problem.

From the BBC

HT DeSmogblog