About
Offset is a carbon marketplace that offers high integrity, premium carbon credits calculated from instances of industrial sabotage and direct actions. At the heart of our work is an innovative new methodology for quantifying the climate benefits of political actions that publicly disrupt carbon flows.
This methodology is applied to numerous case studies in the Carbon Neutralisation Registry. We are currently seeking public submissions of further cases of industrial sabotage and direct action for analysis.
Our Approach
Carbon offsets apply the logic of capitalism to atmospheric interactions. This logic assumes that all activities on earth can be quantified and abstracted, and therefore exchanged. Offsets produce the capacity to outsource the effects of one’s consumption—at the scale of the individual, the corporation, or even the nation state—to someone, somewhere else, even to the generations of the future. In short, many existing carbon offset markets act to maintain a status quo rather than address root causes of the climate catastrophe.
In contrast, the Offset platform includes a registry of alternative offsets that focus on social exchanges and political actions in order to contribute to a program of highly financialized radical change.
The Price of Integrity
Each carbon credit for sale on our marketplace is represented as a unique artwork printed in archival ink on high quality photo rag. While conventional carbon markets settle for $13-$77 per tonne, we recognize what others refuse to acknowledge: most offsets are theatrical gestures that maintain the status quo while the planet burns. Our premium pricing reflects the actual value of carbon that stays in the ground—not through accounting tricks or theoretical future removals, but through an active disruption of carbon flows.
We calculate the pricing of our credits as follows:
1 square meter of certificate = 1 tonne of carbon savings = $1000
We place a 150% artistic surcharge on each certificate in view of the social capital each certificate offers.
Get Involved
Contribute to the Registry
Public submissions to the Carbon Neutralisation Registry are now open. We are seeking further case studies of direct action and industrial sabotage. Submissions will be reviewed and selected cases will be added to the Registry and analysed for their climate benefits and offset potential. The goal of this public submission phase is to further develop our methodology prior to its submission to the Clean Energy Regulator.
Roadmap
Contact
For any questions or comments, contact us at: labr.io.studio@gmail.com
Credits
Offset is initiated by Sam Lavigne and tega brain, with additional research by Neil Potnis.
Exhibition Design: Diogo Passarinho Studio
Certificate fabrication assistance: Claire Hentschker and Brian Clifton
Graphic design and printing consultation: Sarah Yalaju and Beverly Acha
Video VFX: DJ (Dongjun) Kim
Printing: Brooklyn Editions
Studio assistant: Jacob Sheffet
Music consultation: Yotam Mann
Institutional Support
Offset (version 1.0) is supported by a Pioneer Works Working Artist Grant via the Rockefeller Foundation, a Creative Capital Award.
Offset (version 0.1) was commissioned by the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, for Data Relations in 2023.