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The tree money matched Kawhi's pay
The matching $7 million
Aspiration's endorsement deal with Leonard ran four years and $28 million, which works out to $7 million a year. The Clippers' own deal with Aspiration, for carbon offsets tied to the Kia Forum, also came to $7 million a year over four years. Investigators followed that trail and found the match was no coincidence. When Aspiration stopped getting the Clippers' money, it balked at continuing to pay Leonard.
How the figure was set
Carbon offsets usually start with measuring a footprint and then buying enough credits to cover it. The team's account was that the figure came from a consultant's study, but the consultant told investigators that the Clippers had given him a $28 million budget with which to address the Forum's emissions.
No other explanation
No Clippers witness could provide a credible alternative explanation for how the $7 million annual payment from the team to Aspiration first appeared in the Forum agreement.
How are carbon offset credits measured?
One carbon credit stands for one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent that was avoided or removed from the atmosphere. Independent standards bodies set the methods for counting, and third-party auditors verify the projects behind each credit. A buyer normally measures its own emissions first and then purchases enough credits to cover that figure. The credit price varies widely by project type, from forest protection to technology that captures carbon from the air.
Why do tree-planting offsets draw criticism?
A tree absorbs carbon slowly, over decades, while the credit is sold as an offset for emissions released today. Trees can also burn, die, or be cut down, which sends the stored carbon back into the air. Critics have long raised a question called additionality, which asks whether the trees would have been planted without the credit money. Several investigations by news organizations and academics have found that offset projects overstate their climate benefit.
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