Every day, people are encouraged to buy products and services with alleged climate benefits – whether it’s “carbon-neutral flights,” “zero-pollution beef,” or “carbon-negative coffee.” Such claims rely on “carbon offsets.” Simply put, carbon offsets involve an entity that emits greenhouse gases into the atmosphere paying for another entity to pollute less. For example, an airline in a developed country that wants to claim it is reducing its emissions could pay to protect part of the Amazon rainforest. This would – in theory – “undo” some of the airline’s pollution. It's not just businesses that rely on carbon offsets. Major economies are also investing in carbon offsets as a way to meet their international emissions targets – with offsets becoming main point UN climate talks. (Josh Gabbatiss ,   Daisy Dunne, Aruna Chandrasekhar, Orla Dwyer ,   Molly Lempriere, Yanine Quiroz, Ayesha Tandon and Dr. Giuliana )