World's biggest companies snap up 'likely junk' carbon offsets: analysis

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Globally recognized companies -- from oil and gas majors to the banking sector and tech -- are contributing to greenwashing by snapping up vast quantities of 'likely junk' carbon offsets, a watchdog warned Thursday.

A new analysis by Corporate Accountability found that household names including Disney, Volkswagen, Air France and many more were among brands that heavily invested in likely worthless carbon offset credits. Photo: Ronny Hartmann / AFP/FileVolkswagen

"These trends are extremely worrying," Rachel Rose Jackson, the nonprofit's director of climate research and policy, told AFP. On paper, the voluntary carbon markets allow corporations to cancel out a portion of their emissions by purchasing credits in emission reducing activities, for example reforestation projects or replacing polluting cookstoves in the developingThe sector is currently worth around $2 billion per year -- but a growing body of research has raised concerns that claims of reduced emissions under the schemes are often grossly exaggerated or entirely unfounded.

Seven projects were deemed"potentially junk," and one lacked sufficient information for classification.Thirty large corporations, including Shell, Nestle, and Boeing, purchased high volumes of"notoriously junk" credits, where"you'd have to have your head in the sand to not know these projects were under extreme scrutiny," said Jackson.

 

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