There are very few requirements for companies or individuals that purchase offsets to publicly disclose where they come from. California passed a law last year, Assembly Bill 1305, requiring “entities” that do business in the state, and that buy or sell carbon credits, to make that information available. There’s been dispute over whether the statute takes effect this year or in 2025, as the bill’s author has argued it does in recent weeks. Without additional information from Swift’s team, there’s little way of knowing whether Swift personally, Universal, or some other legal entity purchased the offsets, and, accordingly, whether whatever entity bought them would be subject to the new law once it takes effect.
“If Swift or her companies have publicly claimed that the tour was carbon neutral or that it produced less climate impact than its actual emissions because of offset credit use, then arguably they have made a claim that is covered under AB 1305,” Cullenward, who advocated for the bill’s passage, told me over text.
There’s still a blank space to be filled in as to whether Taylor Swift’s carbon offsets are legit, but she does seem eager to shake off her reputation as a climate villain. Swift might not need to come clean in the end. Carbon offset buyers and sellers in the Golden State, however, know all too well that they’ll need to soon enough.