net-zero

Three-quarters of the British public have a poor understanding of commonly-used climate terminology like ‘environmentally friendly’ and ‘locally grown’. The majority of people in the UK struggle to understand key language to do with the climate crisis and environmental policy, a new study has found. Only a quarter of Brits responding to a poll said they understood clearly what was meant by ‘green’ and around the same number could not define the term ‘sustainable’. The survey, conducted by insights experts Trajectory and communication agency Fleet Street, shows key terminology for discussing climate change and climate protection is understood by a minority of people in the UK. So what do these words really mean and why are they so hard to comprehend? Three-quarters of Brits don’t understand key climate language The study, published on Wednesday, found that three-quarters of the British public have a...

Many of the companies promising “net-zero” emissions to protect the climate are relying on vast swaths of forests and what are known as carbon offsets to meet that goal. On paper, carbon offsets appear to balance out a company’s carbon emissions: The company pays to protect trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air. The company can then claim the absorbed carbon dioxide as an offset that reduces its net impact on the climate. However, our new satellite analysis reveals what researchers have suspected for years: Forest offsets might not actually be doing much for the climate. You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, here. When we looked at satellite tracking of carbon levels and logging activity in California forests, we found that carbon isn’t increasing in the state’s 37 offset project sites any more than in other areas, and timber companies aren’t logging less than they did before. The findings s...