Carbon Offsets - Thematic Intelligence

Carbon Offsets - Thematic Intelligence

Summary

More than half of the world’s largest listed companies use carbon offsets to offset some or all of their GHG emissions. Carbon offsets are typically used to claim a company or product is carbon neutral or as part of a longer-term pathway to net zero. Critics say most offsets are low-quality and criticize firms for using them as a “license to pollute.”

Key Highlights

Regulators and standard-setters have become more skeptical of nature-based offsets, especially those that avoid emissions rather than remove existing emissions. While such offsets are cheap to buy (as low as $1 per ton of CO2), many offsets are unlikely to comply with emissions trading systems and cannot be used to meet emissions targets verified by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

A small and growing number of companies are investing in technology-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects such as biochar and direct air capture. These are more reliable when measuring the amount of carbon removed and have long-term storage capabilities. However, they are much more expensive (over $200 per ton of CO2) and have yet to scale, accounting for an estimated 3% to 5% of the offset market today with years-long wait times for delivery.

Scope

• This report provides an overview of carbon offsets, a major topic within the ESG theme.
• It includes a comprehensive introduction to carbon offsets and how they are used to offset greenhouse gas emissions.
• It includes a guide to corporate offset strategies and advice on how companies should approach carbon offsets.
• An appendix provides an overview of the carbon offsetting strategies of the largest 100 companies by market capitalization.

Reasons to Buy

• The number of carbon offsets issued climbed 359% to 291 million between 2015 and 2022. 
• Demand for carbon offsets has been driven by some of the world’s largest companies incorporating them into their net-zero strategies.
• This report will help you understand more about carbon offsets and provide guidance on how to incorporate them into your net-zero strategy.