Carbon offsets: They’ve been called everything from a band-aid solution to “the best thing a consumer can do right now.” A new service even offers customers a monthly subscription to offset their carbon footprint.
 
Meanwhile, offset providers are scrutinized for transparency, and purchasers are criticized for using them as a get-out-of-jail-free card. In the race to bring carbon emissions to zero, are offsets a legitimate tool—or a scam to allow heavy emitters a way out of taking real action? What impact does purchasing offsets have on poorer communities?

This was an audio-only program featuring multiple interviews that were conducted separately.