Implemented correctly, a carbon credit market ought to be putting economic pressure on everyone to use power more efficiently, or to switch to renewables. It's

Implemented correctly, a carbon credit market ought to be putting economic pressure on everyone to use power more efficiently, or to switch to renewables. It's supposed to be the market-based conservative approach to regulating externalities in a commons—allow companies to do what they like, but make them pay for it, while encouraging others who can cut back or switch to do so in order to sell credits on the market, or at least to stop paying for their own. Doesn't mean a particular implementation of it will be any good, but the idea is sound.