I'm really not getting it

2007-07-28 · Original WordPress address

Like I mentioned before, I'm confused by economists being confused about carbon offset markets. Now Arnold Kling comes out against them:

But it's not a free market. It's an artificial market, created by the "carbon offset" nonsense... But selling it as a way to lower your personal or corporate carbon footprint gives me the creeps. When it comes to climate change, I don't necessarily want to be called either a believer or a skeptic. But you can definitely call me a Lutheran.

Can someone please explain to me what the carbon offsetting upstarts are like the old Catholic absolutions? People are buying away their guilt. Why can't there be a market for this? How is it different from the 'organic' movement (I'm working on the well-informed assumption that there's no difference between organic and non-organic milk, for example)?