Carbon offsets can help bring energy efficiency to low-income Americans − our Nashville data shows it could be a win for everyone
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)
Zdravka Tzankova, Vanderbilt University; Carol Ziegler, Vanderbilt University, and James Muchira, Vanderbilt University
(THE CONVERSATION) Under pressure from customers and investors, many U.S. companies have pledged to voluntarily reduce their impact on the climate. But that doesn’t always mean they’re cutting their own greenhouse gas emissions.
A large number of companies are instead paying others to reduce carbon emissions on their behalf through projects that generate carbon offsets.
There are reasons for skepticism about this practice. Chief among them is that projects developed for carbon offsets have a history of taking up land in poorer countries, displacing small-scale farmers and threatening livelihoods in the process. The quality of some globally traded...