A recent study has uncovered that cookstove carbon offset schemes, a growing trend in environmental initiatives, may be overstating their climate benefits by a staggering 1,000%.
Patrick Greenfield reports for The Guardian.
In short:
- Clean cookstove projects, widely used for carbon offsetting, are likely overstating their climate benefits.
- The study, conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, suggests a 10-fold overestimation in these projects' impact.
- Despite criticisms, some cookstove companies are adopting new methods to accurately measure their environmental contributions.
Key quote:
“A carbon credit market built on exaggerations is destined to fail. Our hope is that the specific recommendations we offer can help make clean cookstoves a trusted source of quality carbon credits.”
— Barbara Haya, director of the Berkeley Carbon Trading Project
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