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Global Policy Forum

Global Policy Forum is an independent policy watchdog that monitors the work of the United Nations and scrutinizes global policy making. GPF works particularly on the UN Security Council, the food and hunger crisis, and the global economy. We promote accountability and citizen participation in decisions on peace and security, social justice and international law. GPF gathers information and circulates it through a comprehensive and heavily-visited website, as well as through frequent media interviews. We play an active role in NGO networks and other advocacy arenas. We organize meetings and conferences and we publish original research and policy papers. GPF analyzes deep and persistent structures of power and dissects rapidly-emerging issues and crises. GPF's work challenges mainstream thinking and questions conventional wisdom. We seek egalitarian, cooperative, peaceful and sustainable solutions to the world's great problems. http://www.globalpolicy.org

Carbon Offsets - A Neoliberal Scam

Here’s how they advertise it:

A corporation in the US is polluting more than regulations allow. Instead of reducing emissions, they decide it is cheaper to invest in carbon reduction schemes abroad. Thus, their investments in reducing the world’s carbon cancels out their excess pollution.

Let’s take Chevron, for example. Chevron wants to pollute more in Richmond, California, so Chevron “offsets” these emissions by “ending” gas flaring in Chevron Nigeria. According to Chevron, their carbon credits balance out in the end.

Here’s the reality:

But gas flaring was already illegal in Nigeria. With weak to little international environmental oversight, there are no accountable actors to decide the value of a carbon credit.

Balancing out the carbon credit market does not reduce pollution. Instead, it allows wealthy corporations to pay to pollute at discount prices. There is a better way to reduce emissions, and that involves holding polluters accountable with clear regulations on local levels.

The World Bank declared a “mandate” to help reduce emissions at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Instead of lowering emissions, the World Bank lowered regulations for corporate polluters, and made money doing so. Click here to read more.