How to participate in the carbon credit market
In parallel with regulated markets, there has always been a voluntary, global market with an internationally recognized protocol. In the voluntary market, companies and individuals that buy carbon credits to offset their emissions do so out of their own free will, mainly due to their goal to improve their corporate image. Consumers in rich countries are already aware of climate change and want to see the companies that provide their products acting against global warming. As a result, and as we have mentioned, many companies have announced actions to neutralize their carbon footprints.
How can an ordinary person participate in this market? Today there are thousands of digital platforms that offer personal emissions calculators (the carbon footprint). These platforms calculate the user’s personal footprint, and, at the end of the calculation, offer the service of selling and canceling the credits needed to offset the footprint (effectively creating a personal user donation system for environmental or clean energy projects, generators of credits). The user transfers money to the projects, and in return gains the satisfaction of knowing that they are contributing to the reduction of GHG emission on the planet.
Ake, for example, flying. This is the item that generates the most GHG emission for an individual. Digital platforms offer users digital calculators and questionnaires that gauge how much clients have flown in a year and sell them carbon credits to compensate their carbon footprint. As an example, in Brazil, the average emission of pollutants for each individual is around eight tons per year.
There are two types of demand in the voluntary market: from companies and from individuals. Companies are buying because there is an increasing demand from consumers in Europe and the United States so that they do not harm the environment. The number of environmentally conscious people, who do not consume products from companies that do not neutralize themselves, is growing. As an example of this thesis, 75% of Europeans who buy airline tickets have offset their carbon footprints in the past year.
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