Originally Posted by bisonrav

One of the interesting things about "green" technology (I was somewhat involved with replacement of fossil fuels with electrification in glass manufacture in my former employment) is that it almost always pays back handsomely, because the underlying technologies are intrinsically much more efficient. The issue is that the capital costs of introducing the technology are prohibitive for many businesses (and households, the same is true for making a household more efficient, or even buying an EV or whatever). I took a flight in an electric aircraft a couple of weeks ago - this is on the face of it a great technology for learning to fly and short distance general aviation, and reduces running costs massively, but the purchase price of the plane makes it prohibitive for most flying schools.

So instead of "offsetting", I've often thought that a crowdfunded capital source for green transformation finance would be a better use of contributions. An investment in a fund like that would not just help reduce emissions, but also pay back.

There is also the point that we're not going to stop global warming, still less in the UK where if we all stopped generating any CO2 at all (which would be inconvenient for respiration), we'd make the skinny side of Fanny Adams difference. Where we can actually make a global difference is in engineering technology and solutions to process efficiency, and providing capital, one thing an aging population has in abundance. Offsetting doesn't help much, it's really just a gesture: if you want to move the world you need a long lever, not a few more trees.