Can the carbon-offset market be saved?
Market prices have crashed
“As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs,” ran an early advertising jingle attributed to Johann Tetzel, a 16th-century indulgence salesman. Funding the church offered believers an alternative to paying for sins in the afterlife. The carbon-credit market promises something similar. Instead of reducing your carbon footprint, why not simply pay someone else to do it for you?
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Love the sinner”
From the December 23rd 2023 edition
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