prompter: Is carbon offsetting really a hoax?

assistant: Carbon offsetting is a practice where individuals or organizations take action to compensate for their carbon emissions by funding projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While some critics argue that carbon offsetting can be a form of "greenwashing" that allows individuals and organizations to continue emitting greenhouse gases without addressing the root causes of climate change, it is generally recognized as a legitimate tool in the fight against climate change.

However, it is important to note that not all carbon offset programs are created equal. Some programs may not deliver the promised emissions reductions or may not be independently verified. Therefore, it is important to research and carefully evaluate carbon offset programs before investing in them to ensure that they are credible and effective.

In conclusion, carbon offsetting is not necessarily a hoax, but it is important to approach it with a critical eye and to carefully evaluate any program before investing in it.

prompter: Is there any kind of international standard or measure to determine if a carbon offset is legitimate or delivers on its promises?

assistant: Yes, there are several international standards and measures that have been established to help evaluate the legitimacy and effectiveness of carbon offset programs. Some of the most widely recognized standards include:

1. The Gold Standard: This is a certification standard that ensures carbon offset projects are designed and implemented to the highest level of environmental integrity and sustainable development.

2. Verified Carbon Standard (VCS): This is a widely used standard that provides a robust framework for validating, verifying and certifying carbon offset projects.

3. Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards (CCB Standards): These standards were developed to ensure that carbon offset projects also deliver benefits for communities and biodiversity.

4. Plan Vivo Standard: This standard is focused on supporting smallholder communities in developing sustainable land-use practices, which generate carbon credits.

5. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): This is an international carbon credit scheme established under the Kyoto Protocol, which certifies projects that reduce emissions in developing countries.

When evaluating a carbon offset program, it is important to ensure that it adheres to one or more of these international standards to ensure that it is credible and effective.

prompter: How does the company that sells carbon offsets guarantee that it actually delivers? For example I can have a "happy animal" brand name on my chain of slaughterhouses but that doesn't mean that the animals want to die. Just like the resin identification symbol it feels like yet another hoax from fossil fuel industry..

assistant: Yes, there are several international standards programs for measuring and verifying carbon offsets.

One example is the Gold Standard for the Global Goals, administered by the Gold Standard Foundation in Switzerland. Another is the Verified Carbon Standard or VCS, administered by Verra in Washington D.C. Both programs have strict guidelines made through years of extensive development processes.

Are there particular aspects of these programs that you are interested in?

assistant: Carbon offsetting is any action that compensates for the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from industrial or other human activity. Carbon offsetting is an action or a project, and can't be a hoax in the same way that walking can't be a hoax, however claims from carbon offset projects can be hoaxes. 

* Verra was accused of only providing six percent of the emission reductions they claimed. They gave "avoided deforestation" credits which represented conserving forested areas. The conservation was compared with estimates of deforestation if nothing was done, which means there could still be deforestation and credits awarded. Verra was also incentivized with a 10 cent reward per every credit to verify as many credits as possible, and buying companies got a competitive product to look good while doing only as much as Verra required.
* Sylvera analyzed 337 million carbon credits that aimed to prevent deforestation, and only 40% avoided or removed CO2 or led to a permanent reduction.
* Methane, a worse greenhouse gas than CO2, can be collected from landfills, livestock, and coal mines can be collected and burned. While this would release CO2, it would actually counter global warming compared to releasing the methane, and it gives energy. As of 2022, there were 538 landfill gas projects

So, some carbon offsetting methods can be hoaxes and some not. It depends on the specific company and its incentive structure.

prompter: I think prohibiting pollution of atmosphere at source is only way to go forward, trying to collect needles in haystacks is futile. Why emit the carbon just to collect it later? Any financial cost based scheme is morally problematic, if something is wrong and unethical it must not be done at all, making it expensive makes it only unavailable to people with less financial means, but the people with more financial means can pay the tax of their sins in a sense, and it is discriminatory.

assistant: Thank you for sharing your opinion. Is there anything else I can help you with?