How to Get Rich By Scamming the Climate

onJan 21, 2008 @ 07:01 PST

A cartoon in The New York Times brilliantly captured the mentality behind the latest green trend. It showed a man kneeling at the confessional praying, “Forgive me, but I have SUV‘d.”

The minister takes the proffered bag of money and replies:

Go thy way, thy sins are offset. You too can be forgiven of your carbon emitting sins and achieve the exalted status of being ‘carbon neutral’ without trading in your SUV or cancelling that overseas vacation.”

Here’s a collection of articles we’ve written on the issue carbon offsets:

Enron-Type Accounting Used to Calculate “Carbon Offsets”

Romm on trees and carbon offsets

The Latest in Offsets: Homelessness

Carbon Trading: “Bad for the South, Bad for the North, Bad for the Climate”

Monbiot: Methane Findings Highlight the Scam of Carbon Trading

By Ross Gelbspan

Analysis

Q&A: Amy Westervelt on the Corporate Poisoning of the Information Aquifer — and How to Undo the Harm

ByMatthew Green

onSep 21, 2026 @ 12:34 PDT

The acclaimed climate accountability journalist says bold steps are needed to reverse the insidious impact of decades of industry propaganda on the public square.

Series: Holding the Advertising and Public Relations Industry Accountable for Greenwash and Climate Misinformation

Series: Advertising & PR Industry

Suncor Helped Lead Climate Denial Group Spreading ‘Uncertainties’

ByGeoff Dembicki

onSep 21, 2026 @ 07:18 PDT

With a U.S. Supreme Court decision looming on whether the company can be held liable for climate deception, internal documents show a campaign to question science.