COP26: carbon offsetting, an attractive but contested solution

The aim of the COP negotiations is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a task that sometimes proves impossible for certain sectors of the economy. Hence the idea of “Carbon offset”, which consists, for example, in planting hectares of forest to absorb excess CO emissions₂ that the human economy will not be able to succeed in eliminating. A principle as attractive as it is contested by many specialists. But difficult to do without: France has planned to double its “Carbon sink” natural resources, such as forests, in order to be able to reach its carbon neutrality target for 2050.

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More and more companies are also seeking to achieve a strict balance between CO emissions₂ and absorption capacities, are flocking to this carbon offsetting market. This has doubled in two years. According to figures from Ecosystem Marketplace, companies have financed carbon sink projects avoiding around 250 million