Tech groups including Meta and Netflix have joined the list of companies expressing interest in backing a carbon credits scheme spearheaded by former US climate envoy John Kerry, as they grapple with a surge in emissions from power-hungry data centres and artificial intelligence.
But Kerry warned, at the same time, that the businesses must cut their emissions directly, even as a growing number prepare to pour money into offsets.
“You just don’t have the free ability to go out and take all your emissions, and say, well, you know, we’re just going to pay for the offset,” said Kerry, who first launched the US state department’s carbon credits scheme, dubbed the Energy Transition Accelerator, in 2022.