Carbon Offsets

Supply and demand

Kerry-Boxer muddies handling of international offsets 0
Posted 3 weeks, 4 days ago The Kerry-Boxer climate bill's treatment of international carbon offsets should be modified to align it with the Waxman-Markey approach. Otherwise, U.S. policy could have a ripple effect that would weaken international carbon trading schemes.
We Will All Go Down Together

Ask Umbra on climate weapons 4
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago It's great that some people want to buy carbon offsets, says Umbra -- but it won't get the job done. Here's her advice on making bigger, better change.
I Gave at the Office

Ask Umbra on offsetting work trips 3
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago If you absolutely have to travel for your job, is it better to buy carbon offsets -- or make more concrete changes to your energy use at home? Or both? Umbra drops in with an answer.
Free Pass?

Ask Umbra on buying carbon offsets 11
Posted 1 month, 2 weeks ago Your power company wants to sell you offsets, but what are they doing with the money? Umbra explains how to find out, and whether it's worth the investment.
Sen. Jeff Merkley answers Grist’s questions on Senate climate bill 6
Posted 2 months ago
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) has come out swinging on climate and energy issues, securing an appointment to the Environment & Public Works Committee, sponsoring or co-sponsoring a series of clean energy bills and amendments, and generally staking out the left edge of the climate bill debate. Sen. Merkley was kind enough to answer a couple of questions from Grist about the upcoming Senate battle over the climate bill.
Checks and balances

A private sector view of offsets under a cap-and-trade program 4
Posted 2 months ago
In designing a U.S. cap-and-trade system, Congress should avoid mandates that would hinder the evolution of a robust market in carbon offsets.
Boucher: "Industry needs and wants a bill to pass"

Could Waxman and Markey have used the EPA threat more effectively? 28
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago
Should Waxman and Markey have kicked off House climate bill negotiations with a stronger ask?

The bill they introduced was effectively the USCAP proposal, which already reflected years of negotiation and compromise. The idea was that the difficult work of negotiations had already been done -- enviros and business both on board! -- and it would be easy for conservative Dems (and a few Republicans) to sign off on it.

Of course that's not what has happened. Republicans are balking en masse. Conservative Dems have compromised the bill down further, and by all indications will further weaken it in the Senate. Could the bill have ended up in a stronger place if it had started in a stronger place?
Money for Nuthin'?

Offsets remain off-putting to many experts intent on curbing CO2 emissions 1
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
The massive climate and energy bill now working its way through Congress would create a multi-billion-dollar market in carbon offsets, giving owners of agricultural and forest land the opportunity to profit as companies seek to offset their carbon emissions. But what types of land management should qualify as an offset? How will an offset be measured and monitored? How often should offsets be reevaluated? Should environmental regulators or agriculture officials oversee the program?
Bountiful offsets

Biochar as the new black gold 7
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
Could biochar -- the carbon-rich remains of "burning" organic matter via an oxygen-free process -- be the solution to two of the biggest problems facing mankind: climate change and food security?
A win for the farm team

Offsets and Big Ag: Does the climate bill give away too much to the farm sector? 1
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
The compliance market for offsets proposed under Waxman-Markey would result in a major realignment in the types of offsets offered, shifting away from renewable energy to offsets derived largely from land use, land use change, and forestry projects.
Trees in the bank

Pacific NW landowners team up to market forest offsets 2
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
A national climate bill could create a huge market for forestry-based carbon offsets. Companies looking to cash in are pooling together relatively small parcels of forestland in the Pacific Northwest.
Cap and Carp

Key to climate bill, offsets have plenty of critics 7
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
The Waxman-Markey climate bill does not propose a pure cap-and-trade scheme. It's actually cap and trade and offset. Carbon offsets are controversial: Viewed by supporters as a way to control carbon costs under cap-and-trade, but decried by critics as a significant flaw that will undermine the overriding goal of lowering carbon emissions.
All they can eat

Big Ag not content with concessions in House climate bill 5
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago
The American Farm Bureau Federation, not content with the major concessions for agriculture that its congressional allies secured during the House climate debate, is now lobbying the Senate for a better deal.
No continent left behind

Climate talks should not focus on China and India at Africa’s expense 0
Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago
As the international community prepares to negotiate a new international climate treaty, extending the Clean Development Mechanism and modifying it to better serve African nations must be a priority.
How Waxman-Markey tackles climate change by saving forests 1
Posted 4 months, 4 weeks ago
One of the little-known ingredients of the deal that allowed the American Clean Energy and Security Act, H.R. 2454 to pass the Energy and Commerce committee was a breakthrough on protections for the world's vanishing tropical forests.
Tough row to hoe

Waxman-Markey, meet House Ag Committee 5
Posted 5 months, 1 week ago
By all accounts, Thursday's House Ag Committee hearing on the Waxman-Markey climate-change legislation went as expected: angry men blustered and fulminated and generally vented spleen.
Sweating the climate details

A closer look at problems with the sectoral approach to carbon offsets 1
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago
Just the facts, ma'am

Everything you always wanted to know about the Waxman-Markey energy/climate bill—in bullet points 12
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago
You keep hearing about the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill -- aka the American Clean Energy and Security Act -- but what's actually in it? We combed through the 946-page beast so you don't have to.
The political economy of climate policy

Understanding offsets 6
Posted 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Carbon offsets have come under fire from critics who believe the Waxman-Markey climate bill is too weak.
Southern Utility Blues, part three

Defending coal in climate legislation 3
Posted 6 months ago
How does a legislator negotiate when he believes "clean coal" is the only serious low-carbon option for his constituents and donors? Just watch Rick Boucher.