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Everything You Need To Know About Carbon Credits

September 16, 2021
Everything You Need To Know About Carbon Credits

A Carbon Credit is an instrument that represents ownership of one metric tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent that can be traded, sold or retired. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, one metric tonne of carbon dioxide is equivalent to the emissions generated from approximately 2,500 miles driven by the average passenger vehicle or 113 gallons of gasoline consumed or about 1,100 pounds of coal burned. One metric tonne of emissions is also equivalent to one month of an average individual’s annual carbon footprint.

Carbon Credits are generated through validated voluntary carbon offset projects. Carbonfund supports three different types of carbon offset projects. Our Renewable Energy, Forestry and Energy Efficiency projects are third-party validated and verified to meet the highest international standards. These projects undergo periodic verifications by a third-party assessment firm to confirm that the project continues to meet the requirements of the international standard. That is also when the success of the project is verified and confirmed. The amount of carbon dioxide emissions that project has been able to avoid, sequester or reduce is quantified into units of metric tonnes and those become the Carbon Credits that are then issued unique serial numbers that become available for the project to sell. As those credits are purchased the serial numbers are retired on the public registry.

Senior Vice President of Partnerships at Carbonfund Linda Kelly says, “what people do need to understand about the voluntary carbon offset market is: these projects are real. They are third-party validated and verified. This is one of the most transparent industries I have ever worked in. Every properly validated project has all of its validation and verification documents available to anyone that goes to the registry maintained by the international standard to which that project has been validated.”

A validated voluntary carbon offset project must complete a third-party assessment to confirm that it meets all of the requirements of one or more international standards. The Verified Carbon Standard (Verra), Gold Standard, California Air Resources Board Standard, American Carbon Registry, and other internationally recognized standards all maintain their own registry accounts. Carbon offset projects that complete validation will have their registration documents available for review. These validations are performed by third-party scientific and engineering firms that are recognized by that standard.

There are several different factors that determine how Carbon Credits are priced. According to Biofílica, the location, type, age and volume of a carbon offset project are all aspects that can influence the value of a Carbon Credit. Carbonfund offers Carbon Credits for sale to individuals for as little as $12.50 per metric tonne. Carbonfund.org makes it easy to offset the carbon emissions generated through your lifestylevehiclehomeair traveland special events.

Carbonfund makes it simple and inexpensive to purchase trustworthy third-party validated and verified Carbon Credits. This is one of the best ways for individuals to reduce their impact on the planet and help in the fight against climate change.