While carbon credits are hailed in some quarters as a solution for the climate crisis, environmentalists warn they could send the planet spiralling into an even worse disaster.
The carbon credit system is a method by which businesses and organizations can buy credits for carbon-reducing projects (such as reforestation) to offset their greenhouse gas emissions.
But Witoon Lienchamroon, director of the environmental watchdog Biothai Foundation, cautions that unless regulations are in place to ensure carbon credits are properly audited, they become yet another method of greenwashing.
Greenwashing is a marketing spin that conveys a false impression that a company’s products are environmentally sound. Climate polluters use it so that they can continue to emit greenhouse gases while protecting themselves against accusations of harming the climate.
Witoon explained that the carbon credit…
