HOW IT WORKS
Until recently, our economic system has not been able to price the value of our stable climate because it has been difficult to put an economic value on a unit of GHG emitted to the atmosphere.
When units of pollution (e.g. tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere) are translated into units of property (emission reduction units or carbon credits), carbon emissions trading can be used to more properly price the value of a stable climate within the free-market economy.
Carbon markets make it possible for organizations in one part of the world to exchange carbon credits with another in a different zone. Considering the nature of climate change, this is a powerful factor, because the concentration of GHGs in the global atmosphere is not affected by the physical location of the source of emissions.
PROJECT VERIFICATION
It is essential for the credibility of any offsetting programme that the emissions reductions (credits) used are real and have been verified by a 3rd party. The CarbonNeutral Protocol sets out the offset project verification requirements that are necessary for any CarbonNeutral programme. To ensure that our 'carbon promise' is kept, the money our clients invest in projects also has to cover: -
- Checking the amount of carbon offset by the project (baseline calculation)
- Monitoring it over the lifetime of the project
- Investing in additional offset projects ensure there will be enough carbon credits
