A controversial new report says carbon offsets are a dangerous gimmick.

From the international Kyoto Protocol to the recent energy bill that passed the US House of Representatives, carbon offsets have been a centerpiece of policies designed to make countries responsible for the amount of CO2 they’re allowed to produce.

The general idea behind carbon offsets suggests US polluters send money overseas in exchange for promised - and often pretend - pollution reductions elsewhere.

Michael Despines, Climate Resilience Campaign Coordinator for the US chapter of Friends of the Earth.

For example (in) the United States, our per capita emissions is still about 19 tons per person. The world average is only 4 tons per person and in the developing world, it’s only about 2 tons per person.  So we’re still emitting much, much higher than our fair share and with offsetting, it sort of locks that unfair ratio in place.

According to their report, Friends of the Earth recommends the US clean it’s own house by reducing emissions by 40% by the year 2020 before paying for the cleanup of our neighbors.

For a look at the full report and extended interview with Michael Despines, click here.

Illustration by Will Etling.