Eco-power or greenwashing? The world of carbon offsets
'Carbon offsetting' has become one of the latest eco-buzzphrases
... a multi-billion dollar industry ...
and even a new corporate policy, embraced by brands keen to brandish their green credentials.
So, what is carbon offsetting?
In essence, the schemes allow people - and companies - to counteract their carbon footprint by investing in environmental projects.
Those range from your traditional tree planting, to clean energy initiatives.
Put simply: the harmful greenhouse gasses you generate, minus those you're preventing or removing, should balance each other out.
How does it work?
Most schemes - such as the UN's clean development mechanism - work on a credit system, measured via carbon dioxide equivalent.
Not only can credits be bought to offset, but developing nations can earn and sell them too - for rehabilitating forests, for example.
Proponents say this channels much-needed climate finance to developing countries, alongside helping all nations hit emissions targets.
It all sounds very noble - so, what's the controversy?
Well, critics say that green projects may be built regardless of the schemes, and even then may not be hugely effective.
Tree-planting, for example, will be slow to bear fruit.
In addition, activists accuse offsetting of being a cheap method for brands to "greenwash", in turn fostering a culture of complacency.
Let's look at an example.
EasyJet is the latest company to jump on the bandwagon saying it will pay £25 million - or $32mln dollars - a year to offset all of its flights.
With annual emissions of 8.5 million tonnes, that's a price tag of just £2.90 per tonne of CO2 - way below the European trading price of carbon.
At an added cost of just 25 pence per ticket, its easy to see why green groups accuse brands of using offsets to try to buy out of the problem cheaply.
In the case of easyJet, it also distracts from the fact it carried 8.6% more people in the year to September - a smart PR move as activists like Greta Thunberg put the aviation industry in the crosshairs.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) CLIMATE ACTIVIST, GRETA THUNBERG SAYING:
"... so I'm going here by train because I don't fly for climate reason. It takes a bit longer but it's worth it."
Her zero-carbon voyage has kickstarted an anti-air travel movement in Europe.
There's even a word that's been coined in her native Sweden: "flygskam" - meaning "flight shame."
When it comes to air travel, activists such as Thunberg say the most effective action is simple: don't fly in the first place.
