Approved work: Carbon offsetting and carbon payback
This POSTnote will summarise the challenges that have emerged around setting standards for international offsetting and what monitoring is needed to ensure effective mitigation.

Under the Paris Agreement, almost all governments worldwide have agreed to collectively limit global warming to 'well below' 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures, and to 'pursue efforts' to limit this warming to 1.5°C. However, there has been 1°C of warming to date, and current international pledges could result in 3°C or more. A 2018 UN Special Report examined how peak global warming could be limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures, and the implications of doing so. This POSTnote outlines key messages from the UN Special Report, and UK responses to preventing and adapting to climate change.
Limiting Global Warming to 1.5°C (415 KB , PDF)
The UN Special Report found that:
IPCC experts suggest that in any case, the emissions reductions required imply “rapid, far-reaching changes on an unprecedented scale” to all sectors of the economy.
The UK Government has climate policy in place for mitigating against and adapting to climate change.
Acknowledgements
POSTnotes are based on literature reviews and interviews with a range of stakeholders, and are externally peer reviewed. POST would like to thank interviewees and peer reviewers for kindly giving up their time during the preparation of this briefing, including:
* denotes stakeholders who acted as external reviewers of the POSTnote.
Defra were invited to comment on the POSTnote but did not do so.
Limiting Global Warming to 1.5°C (415 KB , PDF)
This POSTnote will summarise the challenges that have emerged around setting standards for international offsetting and what monitoring is needed to ensure effective mitigation.
This POSTnote will summarise the evidence base for restoration measures for different freshwater habitat types (complimenting the recent POSTnote and POSTbrief on habitat restoration) and the outcomes for biodiversity and ecosystem service benefits such as natural flood management and water quality.
This POSTnote will summarise the challenges and opportunities for the different approaches for reducing the use of synthetic fertilisers.