Carbon Credit

Carbon credits are a key component of national and international emissions trading schemes that have been implemented to mitigate global warming. They provide a way to reduce greenhouse effect emissions on an industrial scale by capping total annual emissions and letting the market assign a monetary value to any shortfall through trading.

Credits can be exchanged between businesses or bought and sold in international markets at the prevailing market price. Credits can be used to finance carbon reduction schemes between trading partners and around the world.

There are also many companies that sell carbon credits to commercial and individual customers who are interested in lowering their carbon footprint on a voluntary basis. These carbon offsetters purchase the credits from an investment fund or a carbon development company that has aggregated the credits from individual projects. The quality of the credits is based in part on the validation process and sophistication of the fund or development company that acted as the sponsor to the carbon project. This is reflected in their price; voluntary units typically have less value than the units sold through the rigorously-validated Clean Development Mechanism.

According to the environmental lobbies and Al Gore, you can offset your "carbon footprint"--the amount of carbon dioxide you are responsible for putting into the atmosphere--by buying what are known as "carbon credits." Al Gore has been selling 'em and has gotten rich doing so. Since I want to be rich too, here's my proposal.

If you live in a house larger than 100 square feet made of anything other than animal hides, heat, light or cool it using wood, petroleum products or electricity (any of these since most electricity in the U.S. is produced by burning fossil fuels), drive a car that burns gasoline in ANY quantity (or burns alcohol or diesel fuel, or runs on electricity PRODUCED by burning fossil fuels), breathe in and out thousands of time per day, you are contributing to the "excess" of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere and are duty-bound to offset it somehow. Thanks to AlGore, we now know how that can be done. If you'll buy a "carbon credit" from me (they cost 1,000 U.S. dollars each--or 500 Euros)I will plant a tree somewhere that will offset the amount of carbon dioxide you are responsible for by absorbing CO2 and converting it to oxygen. You might want to consider buying one for your spouse and each of your children, too, so they can also be "off the hook," environmentally speaking.

If you live in a house LARGER than 100 square feet, you will, of course need to buy more than one "carbon credit" to make up for the increase in carbon emissions for which you're responsible. If you jog or do other cardio exercises, you'll be breathing faster and putting even more CO2 into the atmosphere and will need to buy correspondingly more "carbon credits," of course. Then, if you keep pets, you'll need to buy partial credits for each of them, dependent upon their size. Generally, a horse is worth 5 credits, a dog 1 to 1/2 credit, dependent upon size, and a goldfish or hamster maybe 1/10th of a credit.

For partial credits, I will, of course, plant proportionally smaller trees or shrubs to offset your carbon emission problem, but it will all even out in the end. For those of you who heat or cool very large homes, own and drive more than one car, and use all sorts of electric appliances IN your home and office, the tab will, of course, be pretty large, but think of the peace of mind you'll achieve by buying credits to offset your consumption! And, if you're a big fan of trees (as I am) you'll be helping to beautify the planet as well. The potential benefits are astounding, so don't wait. Make a check out, payable to me, and send it to the address I'll provide to anyone who e-mails me with a request at my e-mail address provided here.

Those of you who think this is a good idea and one way of atoning for your consumption of energy and contribution to the CO2 "problem," and respond with a check, I also have some lovely seaside property for sale near Tucson.

The inclusion of the carbon credits it increased the financial viability of the studied forest projects to the price of practised market.

The seringueira project started to be viable but with the inclusion of the CERs. Thus, the deriving prescriptions of the sales of the CERs they will be able to substitute the economic subvention of the natural rubber foreseen by the Law Nº 9,479 in Brazil, making possible the reduction of the national responsibility regarding this activity.

Improvement in the price of the certificates of carbon, that will be able to happen with the possible ratification of the Protocol of Kyoto, since the demand for these certificates will be greater in the industrialized countries (reduction commitments), what it will reflect in increase of the contribution of these in the viability financier of the projects, being able, with this, to promote the acceleration of the development of the Brazilian forest sector.

Kiwi Campers now offers carbon emission offsetting, playing its role in protecting the environment and keeping New Zealand's proud "clean, green" image.

The Christchurch and Auckland-based campervan and motorhome rental company operates a fleet of luxury ex-KEA vehicles. Kiwi Campers has been certified carbon neutral by New Zealand company Green Carbon, and travellers can be a part of this when they choose the new ‘platinum' insurance option. As well as providing a zero-excess for the duration of the hire, Kiwi Campers will take responsibility for offsetting all carbon emissions produced by the customer's vehicle during their holiday at no extra cost.

The new insurance policy is extremely competitive, said Christchurch Operations Manager Patrick Broadbent. The addition of carbon offsetting is a first for the New Zealand motorhome rental industry and possibly the world.

"Caring for the environment has become a top priority for many visitors. Most are very discerning with a high expectation of quality, and a company committed to reducing its carbon footprint is quickly becoming a part of this expectation. "The majority of our customers travel long distances to get here, and as only a limited number of airlines provide carbon offsetting we hope to help visitors feel more responsible about their travels." As a result, the company's decision to increase its commitment to preventing climate change was a natural one, he said.

"Kiwi Campers is an environmentally conscious company, and I would like to think that the steps we have taken to reduce ours and our customers' carbon footprint will set a precedent for the New Zealand tourism industry as a whole. "Working together to tackle climate change is a world-wide issue, and there is no better place to demonstrate this than New Zealand. Not only does our country have to play its role for the sake of our planet, but we want the world to see that New Zealand's future depends on those who take action to minimise their own environmental impact."