Companies using carbon credits to ‘cover their tracks’, says iron ore billionaire
Carbon offsets are questionable, dangerous and far from a good investment for companies hoping to reduce their environmental impact, Australia’s richest man has said.
Andrew Forrest, a billionaire turned philanthropist who made his fortune in mining and minerals, is turning his vast iron ore extraction operation, Fortescue Metals Group, into a zero carbon business.
Unlike most companies, Fortescue is not seeking net zero greenhouse gas emissions but what Forrest described as “real zero”. To achieve net zero, many companies use carbon credits, awarded for projects such as planting trees or preserving existing forests, to count against their greenhouse gas emissions.
Forrest thinks this is a mistake and instead plans to use entirely renewable energy and zero-carbon technologies to transform his business.
“Companies think they can continue piling emissions into the world, and cover their tracks with carbon offsets,” he said.
“But carbon credits are really questionable,” he told the Guardian in an interview in London. “We are pushing beyond carbon credits.”
Having examined the market for carbon credits, Forrest has concluded that only about 10% to 15% of available credits represent real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
“I am an ecologist and I have seen how these credits get valued. Some are from just planting trees where trees would have been growing anyway,” he said. “Carbon credits are dangerous.”
They are being relied upon increasingly as companies seek to become net zero but questions about the market for offsets are intensifying. Earlier this week, the airline Easyjet announced it would no longer use carbon offsetting to reach its net zero goals, but will invest further in low-carbon technologies for aviation.
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