Carbon trading, is an international system of trading, buying and selling permits to emit carbon. The biggest users of this carbon permit trading are mostly the countries in the European Union. They are the countries that buy the most amount of carbon permits, and the biggest sellers as of recent lists are China and India. Countries are not the only ones buying carbon credit, most large companies such as Amazon, Disney, Delta, Alphabet and many more multi billionaire countries are large buyers of carbon permits.  

All land can store carbon, so it is fairly common for land owners and farmers to obtain carbon permits which they can then sell to industries and companies. Many developing countries don’t necessarily have the capacities to produce enough carbon emissions that they surpass the carbon emission limit set for their country so they make a profit by selling the extra credit to more developed countries.  

While I believe we should try to reduce the emission of carbon into the atmosphere as much as possible, I can also understand the need countries have for industries. In developing countries, the average working person is not going to care about how much damage the factory they work at is causing the environment. They are only interested in earning enough money to put food on their tables. Which is completely understandable when looking into the conditions they live through. Although it is understandable it is also reaching a certain point where we can’t ignore the issues facing our globe because as much as we might blame the developed countries for the mass emissions of carbon, we are still being affected by it.     

Sources  

https://www.fern.org/publications-insight/what-is-carbon-trading-584/ 

https://landgate.com/news/2021/09/27/what-are-carbon-credits-and-how-do-they-work/ 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2022/06/22/not-all-carbon-credits-are-created-equal-heres-what-companies-must-know/ 

https://thedailyguardian.com/india-emerges-as-one-of-biggest-sellers-of-carbon-credits/