Carbon credits are failing to help with climate change — here’s why

Andrew Macintosh; Gregory Trencher; Benedict Probst; Shanta Barley; Danny Cullenward; Thales A.P. West; Don Butler; Johan Rockström

doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03313-z

Carbon credits are failing to help with climate change — here’s why

Andrew Macintosh
, Gregory Trencher
, Benedict Probst
, Shanta Barley
, Danny Cullenward
, Thales A.P. West
, Don Butler
, Johan Rockström

Environmental Geography

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Comment / Letter to the editor › Academic

Abstract

The idea that emissions can be offset through projects that claim to avoid releases or to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is fatally flawed.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	543-546
Number of pages	4
Journal	Nature
Volume	646
Issue number	8085
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03313-z
Publication status	Published - 14 Oct 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Springer Nature Limited 2025.

Keywords

Climate change
Economics
Policy

Access to Document

10.1038/d41586-025-03313-z

Persistent URL (handle)

Persistent link

Cite this

@article{9cd23542b5e247e6bb231c128c0e0880,

title = "Carbon credits are failing to help with climate change — here{\textquoteright}s why",

abstract = "The idea that emissions can be offset through projects that claim to avoid releases or to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is fatally flawed.",

keywords = "Climate change, Economics, Policy",

author = "Andrew Macintosh and Gregory Trencher and Benedict Probst and Shanta Barley and Danny Cullenward and West, \{Thales A.P.\} and Don Butler and Johan Rockstr{\"o}m",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Springer Nature Limited 2025.",

year = "2025",

month = oct,

day = "14",

doi = "10.1038/d41586-025-03313-z",

language = "English",

volume = "646",

pages = "543--546",

journal = "Nature",

issn = "0028-0836",

publisher = "Nature Research",

number = "8085",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Carbon credits are failing to help with climate change — here’s why

AU - Macintosh, Andrew

AU - Trencher, Gregory

AU - Probst, Benedict

AU - Barley, Shanta

AU - Cullenward, Danny

AU - West, Thales A.P.

AU - Butler, Don

AU - Rockström, Johan

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © Springer Nature Limited 2025.

PY - 2025/10/14

Y1 - 2025/10/14

N2 - The idea that emissions can be offset through projects that claim to avoid releases or to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is fatally flawed.

AB - The idea that emissions can be offset through projects that claim to avoid releases or to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is fatally flawed.

KW - Climate change

KW - Economics

KW - Policy

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105018653184

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105018653184#tab=citedBy

U2 - 10.1038/d41586-025-03313-z

DO - 10.1038/d41586-025-03313-z

M3 - Comment / Letter to the editor

C2 - 41087757

AN - SCOPUS:105018653184

SN - 0028-0836

VL - 646

SP - 543

EP - 546

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

IS - 8085

ER -

Carbon credits are failing to help with climate change — here’s why

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Persistent URL (handle)

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this