Greenwashing: The Climate Killer

Faced with consumer pressure amid the climate crisis, multinationals increasingly vaunt their commitment to “carbon neutrality”. But can we believe their claims of ‘net zero’ or is this simply greenwashing? Many of these large companies rely on carbon offsetting to burnish their green credentials, financing ‘ecological’ projects like tree plantations via carbon credits rather than reducing emissions. However, very often these projects are not effective or may even have a negative impact on the environment and local populations. We investigate the validity of claims of big companies like Total Energies or Nespresso, who has pledged that “every cup of coffee will be carbon neutral by 2022”.