California carbon offsets to be in short supply

Carbon offset project developers are petitioning the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to allow additional protocol types to be accepted for use in the state’s cap-and-trade market.

In particular, supporters of landfill gas capture projects believe they can provide a very necessary source for carbon offsets.

The ARB’s rules allow regulated emitters to use carbon offsets to meet up to 8% of their compliance targets, a figure that would require over 10 million offsets annually.

So far there has been concern that with only four project types approved for use the market will be undersupplied, with one analyst as much as a 50% shortage during 2013-2014.