Carbon Offsets — [s9e21]

: 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."

The episode begins by highlighting how major corporations—from airlines to oil giants—heavily promote their "carbon-neutral" status. They do this by purchasing , certificates representing the removal or prevention of one metric ton of CO2cap C cap O sub 2 elsewhere in the world to "cancel out" their own emissions. The Core Problem: Additionality

: Many projects, particularly large-scale renewable energy farms or forests that were never under threat, would have existed anyway. [S9E21] Carbon Offsets

Mapped: The impacts of carbon-offset projects around the world

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

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

: 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. The episode details several high-profile examples of carbon

The story of refers to the main segment of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver , which aired on August 21, 2022 . The episode dives into the "Wild West" of the voluntary carbon market, exploring why these popular tools for achieving "net-zero" goals are often deeply flawed. The Premise: The "Net-Zero" Illusion