In its present format, it's not that great. If you read what I actually wrote, you'll see that I wanted carbon offsets to work like sulfur dioxide offsets, which they don't, as mentioned in two of your articles:
Quote:
"The problems with the European Trading Scheme are well documented with the collapse in the price of a tonne of carbon dating back to May last year when it emerged that most countries in the scheme had set their carbon caps far too high, resulting in fewer firms than expected having to buy credits and causing the price of a tonne of carbon to plummet from over €30 to less than €10."
"Done carefully, offsets can have a positive effect and raise ecological awareness."
"In the absence of a mandatory national cap, some Americans have begun taking action on their own, but without widely recognized standards as to what constitutes a valid offset."
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As you can see, the government has to create carbon limits (uh-oh, the "g" word) for this to work. If you're trying to make this program look bad by showing that a few companies made questionable business deals, my comment is, "what else is new in business?".