The double-edged sword of carbon offsets

Can it cut in favor of health and energy equity

Bibliographic Data

ID19487270
AuthorsZdravka Tzankova (0000-0003-0381-1397, Vanderbilt University, corresponding author), James Muchira (Vanderbilt University), Carol Ziegler (Vanderbilt University)
Year2026
Volume138
Pages104798
Publication date2026-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnergy Research & Social Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2214-6296 • E-ISSN: 2214-6326
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.erss.2026.104798
OpenAlexW7164162710
LanguageEN
References cited111

Skepticism of carbon offsetting as a climate action strategy is rooted in many concerns, its tendency to exacerbate global economic and environmental inequalities key among them. Plantation forestry, conservation forestry, and other offset projects located in the Global South are meant to compensate for continued emissions by countries and companies in the Global North. Yet many such projects are prone to underdelivering on carbon reductions while burdening host communities with negative economic, environmental and health consequences. This can be the case even when carbon offsetting is originally intended as a source of sustainable development and poverty relief. We propose a somewhat different approach to mobilizing carbon offsetting and the voluntary carbon market as instruments in equitable net-zero transitions: We show how carbon offset credits generated by projects located in developed countries like the US can be strategically mobilized as tools for alleviating persistent energy, environmental, and health inequalities within these countries. Specifically, we introduce 3 types of US-based projects with the potential to reduce carbon emissions through interventions designed for meeting critical energy, nutrition, and health needs of marginalized groups: 1) Emission reductions through energy efficiency upgrades for low-income households; 2) Emission reductions through improved nutrition for low income individuals and populations; and 3) Emission reductions through improvements in the care and wellbeing of asthma patients. We also discuss how selling the emission-reduction-based offsets generated by such projects on the voluntary carbon market can create a source of financing for the health- and equity-promoting interventions behind the projects

Carbon fibers · Energy (signal processing) · Energy consumption · Production (economics) · SWORD · Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact · Climate Change and Health Impacts · Climate Change Policy and Economics

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