Verdad Verde

Unlike the mandatory carbon markets, such as the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme and the Kyoto Protocol, the United States has a completely voluntary carbon market. While a voluntary carbon market might sound like a losing environmental cause, it actually has some weight behind it. In 2006, the volume of carbon offsets traded in the global voluntary market was “larger in volume than both the Kyoto Protocol’s Joint Implementation mechanism and the New South Wales Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme.” In fact, the worldwide voluntary carbon market grew 200% between 2005 and 2006. It was further estimated that the global voluntary carbon market was worth $91 million in 2006.

Others probably would be surprised to hear that many large companies are participating in the voluntary carbon market. Dell, Delta, AEP, Google, Pacific Gas & Electric, Yahoo, Nike, Sky, and Origin Energy are just a couple of the businesses buying offsets from the voluntary carbon market. Whether the interest in the voluntary carbon market is in anticipation of future legislation or from a social responsibility point of view, the voluntary carbon market is growing fast. The opportunities to make money in the voluntary carbon market will continue to increase as more and more companies and individuals participate in the market. Also as more money gets invested in the voluntary carbon market, the likelihood of breakthroughs in technology increases.