Why airline carbon offsets are mostly a sham

The global aviation industry, a major contributor to greenhouse gases, is aiming to reach net zero emissions by 2050. But the “net” in that commitment is misleading consumers and creating legal risks for airline companies, a new study has found.

Many airlines now offer their customers the chance to buy carbon offsets along with their ticket. The premise is that the money will go toward a third-party project that prevents an equivalent volume of carbon from reaching the atmosphere as the per-person emissions of the flight. But the offset credits that airlines...