ClimateBuying carbon credits to fight climate change? Heres what to knowProblems of additionality and leakage mean you might not be making the contribution you think More than 2 billion carbon credits have been sold on the voluntary carbon market. Critics question whether all of those credits have conferred true emissions savings.Illustration by Alex WilliamsonBy Alka Tripathy-Lang1 hour agoTaylor Swift may not be the first person who comes to mind when you think about climate change. But more than once, the singer has found herself in the middle of a media storm over her carbon dioxide emissions. Swift regularly hops aboard her private jet, as she did in 2024 to get from a concert in Tokyo to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas the next day. A spokesperson said that Swift purchases more than enough carbon credits to offset her jet-setting. But fans and haters alike want to know: Is it enough?If you travel by plane, even in less-glamorous economy, youve probably faced a similar question. Airlines often offer passengers the option to pay a few extra dollars to offset their share of the flights emissions. Its considered the climate-friendly thing to do. By purchasing carbon credits, youre paying someone somewhere to take some actionprobably saving an existing forest or perhaps planting treesthat reduces total global emissions enough to cover your contribution. You can take off without a guilty conscience. Supposedly.