CarbonTracker.com is creating a registry for retail carbon offset sales, which will be made available free-of-charge to all members of the CarbonTracker Network.

What’s the big deal about a registry?
An independent, third-party registry is necessary to ensure that offsets are “single counted”, or that multiple parties cannot take credit for the same offset. In the absence of publicly available registration with an independent third party, it is difficult or impossible to monitor transactions and ensure that companies are not:

• selling offsets they have not generated, or
• selling the same offset to multiple parties.

The CarbonTracker Registry will provide a measure of transparency to the voluntary offset industry that is currently lacking.

For offset vendors, the registry will allow them to demonstrate that offsets are retired after being sold.

For offset consumers, the registry will help to ensure that their offset purchases are leading to real, quantifiable reductions in atmospheric greenhouse gases.