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The concept of a carbon credit originated decades ago as mechanism to fund the reduction of carbon emissions. One carbon credit represents the reduction of 1 metric ton of CO2 from the atmosphere. There are two different kinds of carbon credits – voluntary and compliance. We will explain the difference, but this article primarily focuses on voluntary carbon credits which apply to everyone – businesses and individuals alike.
Compliance carbon credits are relevant for only a small number of very large companies. Compliance credits exist in government regulated cap-and-trade carbon markets that are isolated to specific high-emission industries like power generation or heavy manufacturing. In regulated carbon markets, the government identifies an industry that is responsible for significant carbon emissions. The government establishes a carbon emission limit for each facility (a cap) and enforces financial penalties on facilities that exceed their cap. Facilities with carbon emissions below their cap are awarded credits that they can sell to facilities who are over their cap. Hence the term cap-and-trade. Notable regulated carbon market includes the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), California (CARB) in the United States, and the China Emissions Trading System (ETS) to name a few.
Voluntary carbon credits on the other hand are generated by projects that are implemented exclusively to reduce carbon emissions. These projects rely on the sale of carbon credits for funding and have no other regulatory or financial incentives to exist. Voluntary carbon credit projects are basically carbon reduction factories. These carbon reduction projects are major capital projects just like building and operating a manufacturing plant. They have significant up-front investment and ongoing operating expenses. They need continuous carbon credit revenue for decades to recoup the cost of construction and operation. Every year that these projects reduce carbon emissions, they generate carbon credits that they sell to keep the doors open. That’s why it is important for you and I to buy carbon credits. We help existing projects continue to operate and we create demand for new projects.