Selling Carbon Credits

As mentioned in the previous section, large industries/companies are the largest buyers of Carbon Credits, however, not only them. It was stated by the Kyoto Protocol that each nation was responsible for manipulating its domestic fossil fuel emitters to achieve the targeted reductions, while any countries struggling to meet their own emissions targets could reduce their emissions on paper by trading emission allowances with countries that already had excess allowances or by directly purchasing carbon credits from authorized entities.

The countries that produce and buy the most carbon credits are: New Zealand, Japan, Australia, the United States, South Korea, Mexico and India. It is also possible to mention some giant companies that are constantly buying carbon credits such as: Boston Consulting Group, IBM, Delta, Disney, JP Morgan Chase, Salesforce and many other companies in the oil and gas sector.

In addition, many individuals are buying carbon credits with the aim of reducing their CO2 footprint, as most companies, as well as most people, would like to make a positive impact on the environment. This is called the voluntary market and is mostly inhabited by individuals, families, and private businesses. This can be a bit controversial, as buying carbon credits is "mandatory" for many businesses nowadays, however, it is extremely important to highlight the benefits of carbon credits for: Corporations, Small Businesses, and Individual Corporations.