Carbon Offset, Carbon Reduction
Paying for carbon offsets is sometimes represented as an easy way for those with sufficient means to keep a clear conscience while maintaining a life style that produces high carbon emissions. This issue is discussed by Bourban and Broussois (2020) in their constructive criticism of the Effective Altruism movement and its search for the most effective ways to benefit others. The paper uses carbon offsets as an illustration of attitudes to individual responsibility. The authors cite a calculation showing that “an American’s annual emissions could be offset for a mere $300/year”, so that if “you earn enough money, you can donate some of it, without having to make any sacrifice, and get off the moral hook.” They also quote a suggestion that ‘rather than reducing your own greenhouse gas emissions, you pay for projects that reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere’. This use of carbon offsets is contrasted with the view that personal integrity requires action to reduce one’s o