Much of the literature on carbon offsets (and nearly all aspiring “standards”) point out that credible offsets must be “real, surplus, permanent, verifiable, and enforceable” – or some variation of these terms. 15 Different sources do not always agree on the definitions of these criteria, however, and having a “standard” for carbon offsets really depends on how they are interpreted. What the criteria boil down to are three things, all of which need some form of official certification or oversight to create a true carbon offset “commodity”: (1) accounting standards; (2) monitoring and verification standards; and (3) registration and enforcement systems
