Cookstoves: Is the multibillion dollar carbon offset market flawed?

If you’ve booked a flight recently, you might have been offered the chance to cancel out your journey’s carbon emissions, just by clicking a box.
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Carbon offsetting, as it’s known, is often touted as a business-friendly way to tackle future climate disasters.
It means that rather than simply reducing emissions, polluting companies can pay them to be reduced somewhere else.
But analysis by Channel 4 News raises new questions about whether this multi-billion pound market is actually delivering the benefits it claims.
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[@LovePeaceNappiness]

This is the type of accounting gymnastics we are doing instead of phasing out fossil fuels... What the world is sacrificing in biodiversity just to satisfy the shareholders of certain companies is insane.

[@christopherguider9534]

Carbon offsets: "Paying someone else to turn off their lights so you don't have to."

[@yokomotooto1255]

They sure know how to cash in.

[@rexlongfellow]

As usual, a company seems to have inserted themselves into the problem and caused another one. Just imagine, this whole thing could've been avoided if they just made and distributed better stoves...if they actually wanted to make a difference. But it seems this is just for corporate accounting purposes.

[@Firkinnel]

A cast iron stove/heater with a chimney would be much more fuel efficient and last until they run out of trees.

[@SigFigNewton]

But that would reduce the profits of the companies doing what they can to keep emitting carbon dioxide

[@mamageorge8289]

These people even coach the respondents, thereby interfering with data accuracy. That is why he claims that the researchers should not have gone to the field without him!

[@bertcopying1036]

"Everybody is making the best they can to manage the climate change", says the CEO, leaving out the crucial part of "and making as much money as possible while doing so."

[@callumbrooker4230]

This argument is majorly flawed. Why not monetise climate action? As unfortunate as it is, if there is no business case and it cannot be montised, it will not move people to take action.

[@xSolomon454x]

This is great journalism about greenwashing by these financial firms

[@gee_emm]

So the stoves don’t last past a year and the figures are wildly over ambitious. Meanwhile, what about the toxic particulates, deforestation and carbon footprint related to cooking on gas stoves in richer countries? What a farce.

[@callumbrooker4230]

Particulates, deforestation and Carbon Footprint are all drastically lower when using gas as fuel instead of timber. Don't understand what your argument is

[@gee_emm]

@@callumbrooker4230 Clearly not. The point is we should be worried about the much larger issue of rich countries cooking with gas then wasting resources on poorly built stoves that don’t last. We all know that the carbon footprint of rich countries far exceeds that of poorer ones.

[@Julian_Wang-pai]

We can all see that there's merit in this project though the management looks suspect. However my biggest take is that two of the planet's fossil-fuel behemoths are commendably very keen in 'decarbonising' poor Africans while apparently oblivious of their own monstrous carbon footprints.

[@SigFigNewton]

Your comedy routine needs work

[@mr.jasonbrown]

give them the damn stoves. cheap-o rich people and silly market-based solutions.

[@gracefreshfoodsministries.9634]

Everything is going on just as those above us have planned, irrespective of our religion. And still many of us stubbornly refuse to open our eyes and see the big trap we are being lured into because we are too comfortable with our foolish ignorance that gives us a false sense of peace of mind. Then finally when it brutally and fatally pains, then we cry out in vain. oh how pathetic we are.

[@gregorymalchuk272]

The lower particulates from engineered stoves alone would make this worth it.

[@guff9567]

Stop all this hating on carbon

[@SigFigNewton]

Stop advocating for a worse future. We can’t keep emitting more greenhouse gases atmosphere

[@tatsuhitot]

It's a scam.

[@uthman83]

Worldwide ban on carbon credits before all this goes wrong, as usual the rich big businesses making money from the poor.

[@Pentagathusosaurus]

They aren't selling the cook stoves to these people, they are giving them for free. So this is is a rich big business making money from richer bigger businesses and providing some small benefit to very poor people. Carbon credits can also be sold by people in africa, for example making biochar from maize stalks and cobs and using that in agriculture to increase crop yields and reduce fertiliser run-off could make poor farmers throughout africa quite a lot of money (relative to their usual income at least) on the carbon credit market. Carbon credits are obviously not going to prevent climate change but they aren't really doing any harm either.

[@MichaelHo429]

Channel 4 News’s Cathy Newman kept inaccurately paraphrasing Jordan Peterson by saying “so you’re saying [something that he actually didn’t say]” and guised it as a confirmatory question. It was obvious that it’s a blatant attempt to make Jordan look bad to the audience. Well, it backfired and Cathy Newman looks like a fool for incorrectly paraphrasing Jordan over 20 times in a half hour interview. Cathy: we detest you. Your career is ruined and you should leave Channel 4 News!

[@bakedbean37]

"you should" Move on with your life. What does one dodgy interview from years ago have to do with this video? Why are you still so butt hurt about it?

[@MichaelHo429]

The Canada Association of Cathy Newman Critics is STRONGLY sending our STRONGEST criticism and most SEVERE condemnation against Cathy Newman of Channel 4 News for what she did on Jan 16, 2018 in her interview with Jordan Peterson. She paraphrased incorrectly and kept putting words in Dr. Peterson’s mouth. It backfired and Cathy Newman ended her career right there. Cathy: we STRONGLY dislike you and wish you the very worst in your marriage, life, and children’s lives.

[@schang8964]

Shame shame shame for humankind

[@MichaelHo429]

Cathy Newman, we are very angry at you for what you did on Jan 16, 2018. You did journalism a disservice and acted irresponsibly when you incorrectly paraphrased your interviewee in a blatant (but failed) attempt to make him look bad. Shame on your behavior. I hope your children do better and don’t learn from their awful mother!

[@Sewpot]

Also... On December 13 2009, professor, prophet, and soothsayer Al Gore predicted the North Polar Ice Cap could be completely ice free within the next five to seven years. Was he right or WRONG