Can new technology make carbon offsets credible?

Carbon offsets have a reputational problem.  The basic concept – that reducing carbon emissions or increasing carbon storage can offset emissions that occur elsewhere—sounds plausible, but subsequent scandals have plagued the market for years. The schemes have been accused of giving money to projects which: would go ahead anyway, do not reduce carbon emissions, lead to growth elsewhere and harm local communities or biodiversity. A lot of work is being done to fix it. For example, a series of standards and guidelines are to be developed this year to define best practices and improve credibility in the use of carbon credits by companies. It began in late June with a code of practice from the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) for businesses to follow when using and claiming carbon credits under net-zero obligations.