A New Greenhouse-gas Emissions Market Emerges

Market-based programs to buy and sell pollutants that contribute to global warming are gaining popularity.

1 minute read

January 5, 2006, 5:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Although the United States is not a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty that imposes mandatory greenhouse-gas reductions beginning in 2008, a growing number of cities, states, and businesses are developing market-based programs to buy and sell pollutants that contribute to global warming. These initiatives include underwriting clean energy technology or purchasing carbon offsets generated by planting forests or recapturing methane gas released from cow manure.

...Individual buyers cannot participate in the CCX. But because DriveNeutral is an associate member, it buys blocks of credits and divides them into increments tailored to fit the ecological footprint of an individual automobile. The $25 Castleman paid to offset her Infiniti reflects the current price of carbon, about $1.50 per metric ton."

Friday, January 6, 2006 in The Christian Science Monitor

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Flat modern glass office tower with "County of Santa Clara" sign.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing

The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

May 23 - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of dense urban center with lines indicating smart city concept.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant

A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

May 23 - Governing

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

May 23 - The Daily Yonder