Other organisations invest directly in projects in developing countries that deliver broader social and economic benefits as wel

Investing in projects in developing countries is a great thing to do if your primary concern is development – but to tackle climate change we have to quickly reduce the level of emissions occurring in industrialised nations.

These are the counties who have created the stock of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which is driving global warming and it is their responsibility to take the lead in reducing emissions.

Emissions trading is supposed to be a tool to help this happen – in a market with a limited initial supply of permits, fewer in circulation means prices will rise making the incentive greater to invest in solutions. This is what sandbag is focused on achieving.

Some other organisations encourage people to invest in credits from developing countries directly – adding to the demand that is already there from companies and countries with caps. This is a good thing to do if your primary interest is in helping development but because the supply of these credits is not capped it will not have an impact on the overall price paid and does not have any effect on the levels of pollution in the West – where responsibility lies to make the deepest cuts.