Sell Carbon Credits
One metric ton of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere creates a credit, which is sold in markets around the world. The credits might be purchased by an environmentally conscious company to offset its own carbon dioxide emissions from industrial operations or its delivery vehicles or by individuals to counteract their own carbon footprint. Companies might also purchase the credits to satisfy government climate regulations or to demonstrate they are preparing for them.
Until recently, the only places that have produced these credits have been forest projects on private land. Now, the carbon market has found a new source of credits on public lands. Last year, the global carbon offset market hit a record $851 billion, according to Refinitiv data. That market is expected to double by 2030 as countries work toward reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
The global trade carbon credits market is divided into the voluntary and regulatory markets. The regulatory markets have evolved from the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism, where industrialized countries can receive credits for supporting sustainable development initiatives in developing nations to meet their emission targets. Those credits are called Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). The voluntary market, which has grown rapidly over the past year, is driven by recent corporate net-zero goals and interest in meeting international climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.
Where Landowners Sell Carbon Credits
Agriculture is one of the largest producers of greenhouse gases, from tractor emissions to manure and fertilizer applications. It’s also a promising area for carbon credit production because croplands and grasslands absorb and store carbon in the soil. To capture that carbon, some farmers plant trees and use regenerative farming techniques.
However, many carbon credit buyers require verification that a project produces the desired outcome, and that the credits are genuine. Buyers also want to know they are buying credits that are priced fairly. “If I’m a company buying from a producer, I want to see what it costs them to make a unit of carbon dioxide removed,” said Joppa of Microsoft.
To verify the claims of carbon offset sellers, groups such as Verra, which works with businesses to improve quality in the voluntary carbon market, have established what is known as a standard that includes accounting methodologies specific to each ecosystem type, independent auditing and a registry system. The verification process aims to reduce fraud and increase trust in the industry.
The two carbon offset projects on Washington state land — a project developed by the Department of Natural Resources and another managed by Bluesource — both meet the Verra standards. “You wouldn’t let a surgeon operate on you without being trained,” Joppa says. “You wouldn’t buy something from someone who wasn’t verified.”
In the future, more carbon credits could be sold in the voluntary market if there was a more efficient way to describe the attributes of a credit. “Core carbon principles” are a proposal for a common language that would make it easier for sellers to find buyers and for buyers to understand what each credit offers, including the types of mitigation activities and other benefits.
