Can the carbon-offset market be saved?
Market prices have crashed
“As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs,” ran an early advertising jingle attributed to Johann Tetzel, a 16th-century indulgence salesman. Funding the church offered believers an alternative to paying for sins in the afterlife. The carbon-credit market promises something similar. Instead of reducing your carbon footprint, why not simply pay someone else to do it for you?
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Love the sinner”
From the December 23rd 2023 edition
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Trump wastes no time in reigniting trade wars
Canada and Mexico look likely to suffer
How Trump, Starmer and Macron can avoid a debt crunch
With deficits soaring, their finance ministers will have to be smart
What Scott Bessent’s appointment means for the Trump administration
The president-elect’s nominee for treasury secretary faces a gruelling job
What Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders get wrong about credit cards
Forget interest rates. Rewards are the real problem
Computers unleashed economic growth. Will artificial intelligence?
Two years after ChatGPT-3.5 arrived, progress has been slower than expected
Should investors just give up on stocks outside America?
No, but it is getting a lot harder to keep the faith