There are two markets for carbon offsets: compliance and voluntary. In the larger compliance market, companies, governments, or other entities buy carbon offsets in order to comply with caps on the total amount of carbon dioxide or unit of carbon dioxide equivalent they are allowed to emit. This market exists in order to achieve compliance with obligations of Annex 1 Parties under the Kyoto Protocol, and of liable entities under the EU ETS.
In the smaller voluntary market, individuals, companies, or governments purchase carbon offsets to mitigate their own greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, electricity use, and other sources. For example, an individual might purchase carbon offsets to compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions caused by personal air travel. Increasingly, companies are offering carbon offsets as an up-sell during the sales process, so that customers can mitigate the emissions related with their product or service purchase (such as offsetting emissions related to a vacation flight, car rental, hotel stay, consumer good, etc.). In 2008, about $705 million of carbon offsets were purchased in the voluntary market, representing about 123.4 million metric tons of CO2e reductions.
Offsets are typically achieved through financial support of projects that reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in the short– or long-term. The most common project type is renewable energy, such as wind farms, biomass energy, or hydroelectric dams. Others include energy efficiency projects, the reduction of industrial pollutants or agricultural by-products, reduction of landfill methane, and forestry projects. Some of the most popular carbon offset projects from a corporate perspective are energy efficiency and wind turbine projects.
We are pleased to offer you trading or carbon offsetting with following instruments and standards:
– Gold Standard (GS) VER
– Voluntary Carbon Units / Verified Carbon Standard (VCS VER)
– Certified Emission Reductions (CER) from Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
These credits all comply with the highest standards for voluntary carbon offsetting. For further information feel free to contact our consultants.