SUSTAINABILITY
Elliot Coad , CEO and Co-Founder of climate action platform Ecologi , believes that carbon offsetting should be used alongside a company ’ s wider decarbonisation strategy .
“ There is a misconception within the financial sector that , through carbon offsetting alone , a company can make claims to carbon neutrality or net-zero ,” Coad says . “ The most important action any company can take right now is to reduce its emissions . If the world is to have any hope of staying in the region of 1.5-2 ° C of warming , we need to see unprecedented cuts . But this won ’ t happen overnight .” easier and cheaper way out . But should banks and FIs be ducking their obligations in this way , and have they become too reliant on carbon offset ?
“ Unfortunately , it has become all too common to default to offsets as a way to claim net zero targets ,” Mambu ’ s Anna Krotova says . “ Emissions reductions in the financial sector require active engagement of the capital provider with the capital receiver , conditionality attached to loans and investments . All of this is much harder than offsets , which is why we have seen
Is finance too dependent on carbon offsetting ? There is a growing concern , widely held among environmentalists , that corporate culture is drawn to quick-and-dirty action rather than meaningful , long-term change . Paying for carbon offsetting is usually an
“ THERE IS A MISCONCEPTION WITHIN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR THAT , THROUGH CARBON OFFSETTING ALONE , A COMPANY CAN MAKE CLAIMS TO CARBON NEUTRALITY OR NET-ZERO ”
ELLIOT COAD CEO AND CO-FOUNDER , ECOLOGI
88 February 2023