Carbon accounting is simply a way to build in a price signal to activity that produces an unwanted externality. Imagine if it were free and legal to dump garba

Carbon accounting is simply a way to build in a price signal to activity that produces an unwanted externality. Imagine if it were free and legal to dump garbage in your local park. That is how air pollution is currently treated in the US. In jurisdictions with sensible climate policy, you pay to dump waste into the atmosphere and those dollars are used to reduce GHG emissions elsewhere.