Nature-Based Insetting: A Harmful Distraction from Corporate Decarbonization

In recent years, “insetting,” the alternative to “offsetting” that typically involves localizing nature-based solutions projects a within company value chains, has grown in popularity as a way to help companies work toward their climate targets. 

In a commentary, CCSI’s Nora Mardirossian and Jack Arnold conclude that any reliance on nature-based insetting projects should be treated with extreme skepticism and that, as a result of the practice’s environmental and social shortcomings, policymakers and accounting frameworks should prevent their use as a climate strategy in order to reprioritize corporate decarbonization efforts that work to avoid or reduce emissions.

This conclusion is reached for three main reasons:

1. Nature-based insetting is out of line with the mitigation hierarchy. 
2. Nature-based insetting suffers from the same core ecological and credibility problems as the offsetting programs they supposedly improve upon. 
3. The purported benefits of nature-based insetting programs for local communities and peoples are uncertain, while the risk of harms to their human rights and land rights remains real.

Authors

Nora Mardirossian

JA

Jack Arnold

Themes

• Carbon Accounting
• Sustainable Business

Tags

• Human rights
• Nature-based solutions
• Transparency