The Voluntary Carbon Market: Caveat Emptor No More?

Carbon credits have been much ballyhooed in the media of late.  Everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio and Bank of America seems to have them.  But even as the market for carbon credits grows, so does the skepticism about their authenticity and quality.  In large part, the skepticism reflects the absence of a regulatory system governing the creation and sale of carbon credits in the United States.  Some of the credits represent real verified reductions of carbon emissions under established protocols.  Others, however, are not supported by rigorous quantification and verification methodologies.