The carbon trap

Hamsa Sripathy throws light on the concept of carbon credit and explains its significance

 One often hears the term 'carbon credit' being bandied about in industrial circles, but few know the actual meaning of the term, and what role it plays in saving our planet from toxic annihilation. As levels of carbon-di-oxide began rising alarmingly, it became imperative to seek ways of reducing emissions at the earliest. The concept of carbon credits arose in the late 1980s as a consequence of seeking a feasible and practicable solution to the pressing problem. It was introduced in the Kyoto Protocol and carried further in the Marrakesh Accords.
    A carbon credit works like this: if a country or organisation has reduced its greenhouse emissions to a level approved by a regulatory authority such as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), a credit is awarded to it. One carbon credit allows the holder to emit one ton of carbon dioxide. Credits so acquired can be traded in the international market at the prevailing price.
    Carbon credits play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by putting a cap on the total annual emissions. Organisations exceeding the pre-defined limit of emission are required to purchase credits from those who have earned them by keeping their emissions low.
    Worth mentioning here is the term 'carbon footprint', which is a numerical measure of the amount of carbon-di-oxide released by an individual or organisation in the course of its everyday activities. The ethos behind the system of carbon credit is to reduce carbon footprints on a worldwide scale.
    Credits are sold by many to commercial and individual customers who are interested in lowering their carbon footprint, who are known as carbon offsetters. Thus, credits not only help reduce carbon-di-oxide output but also provide monetary aid to those who need it most.
    However, the concept has been criticised on the grounds that it is too simplistic a measure to tackle a burning issue, and it does not help solve the systemic and endemic malaises in the world, which were originally responsible for the status quo. Others argue that the offenders are being let off lightly, while they should be penalised more heavily. Still others propose auctioning the credits, as opposed to selling them.
    For all its rights and wrongs, carbon credit cannot take the blame for our failure to save the planet from near-certain destruction. May it serve as a reminder to all of us towards our collective responsibility to nurture the only home we have, mother Earth.