By paying for equal carbon savings generated by specially designed projects around the world, carbon credits enable people and corporations to balance their carbon footprints. 

One tonne of CO2 will be removed or reduced from the atmosphere by an offset, lowering atmospheric CO2 by one tonne.  Independent carbon certification bodies will provide carbon credits, once a project has shown it has removed, decreased, or avoided carbon while adhering to the instructions of the specific carbon certification body it is certified or registered with. Additionality, permanence, robust quantification, auditability and not being double counted are fundamental characteristics for carbon offsets.

Verified Emission Reductions (VERs), a type of carbon offset, are typically produced by projects that have met international standard's requirements for verification. The amount of CO2 emitted by one VER is one tonne. 

One crucial step toward achieving net zero emissions is high-quality carbon credits; they provide funding for accelerating carbon reductions and removals that would not have occurred otherwise.

There are several types of projects that generate carbon offset credits. Some type of carbon offset projects are; renewable energy, energy efficiency, agriculture, forestry, waste management and handling, methane capture and fuel switch.

These projects must adhere to international criteria that have been independently verified and have a measurable positive impact on society, the environment, and the economy—all of which support sustainable development. 

A credit's quality is primarily determined by the following factors:

• Verifiability - A thorough audit trail documenting how the project delivered on its objectives and was verifiably feasible.

• Real - The offsets can be measured.

• Permanence - Over time, the project achieves the promised carbon reductions in a sustained manner.

• Additionality - They would not have occurred in the absence of the incentive created by carbon credit revenues.

• No Leakage - The project's emissions reduction does not cause additional emissions to be produced elsewhere.

• No double counting - There must not be a double counting of the GHG emission reductions or removals from the mitigation action.