Carbon credits are intended as a way to fund projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gases globally.
They are a tradable permits scheme created by the Kyoto Protocol to allow organisations to meet standards by buying and selling emissions permits. They provide a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by giving them a monetary value with the overall long-term aim of making polluting expensive and increasing the motivation to reduce emissions.
Carbon offsets are the voluntary version of carbon credits. Offset projects include reforestation, renewable energy plants and energy efficiency schemes.
Carbon markets are now big business and the whole concept is very controversial, often seen as a means of cancelling out pollution by paying someone else not to pollute rather than simply reducing emissions, with the potential for mistakes and abuse. See Biofuels: Biodevastation, Hunger & False Carbon Credits
There is lots more information on this subject at Grist.
Posted under carbon footprint, educational resources
