Cop29 rules for carbon offsets

Cop29 has agreed on new rules for carbon offsets. The rules are meant to assure that a carbon offset really will result in a reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions. But will these rules really achieve that goal?

Given that some experts already have doubts, I would expect they have valid grounds for those doubts.

One specific reason to doubt is that whether any particular offset plan really does reduce emissions depends on future developments of global heating, which we can't reliably anticipate. For instance, if we plant many square miles of trees, even supposing we have chosen good trees for the local climate and situation, we cannot be sure whether global heating will kill them all.

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