Carbon offsetting essential to tackle climate change

Carbon offsets already play a role in some international agreements and government programmes but dubious offsetting measures have damaged the credibility of some schemes. Ben Caldecott explains in The Economist that technology used to monitor offsets has improved greatly. 

Trading offsets could become as simple as online banking using a smartphone. Nascent "direct air capture" technology, which removes carbon from the air, could become another tool in emissions trading. If we are to move to a net-zero emission society, offsets will need to create genuine negative emissions.