[s9e21] Carbon Offsets Info

: Credits are often sold for protecting forests that weren't actually in danger of being cut down. Oliver mocks this as "paying someone not to do something they weren't going to do anyway."

Oliver centers the story on the concept of —the requirement that an offset project must only happen because of the carbon credit funding.

Mapped: The impacts of carbon-offset projects around the world [S9E21] Carbon Offsets

The story concludes that while offsets could theoretically help, they are currently used as a tool for . They allow companies to avoid the more difficult task of actually cutting their own emissions at the source by simply throwing money at questionable projects.

Oliver's final take is a warning: the current system is essentially a "get out of jail free card" that prioritizes corporate PR over actual climate action. org/">Verra have responded to these criticisms? : Credits are often sold for protecting forests

: An investigation highlighted in the show revealed that up to 90% of rainforest carbon offsets approved by major certifiers like Verra were likely "worthless" or "junk" credits.

: Many projects, particularly large-scale renewable energy farms or forests that were never under threat, would have existed anyway. They allow companies to avoid the more difficult

The episode details several high-profile examples of carbon offset failures: