Digital Value Chains for Cabon Emission Credits

The reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs), including carbon dioxide (CO2 ), has become one of the most serious issues in the world today to build a sustainable world. Digital economy have several contributions to the reduction of GHG emissions. Among them,Carbon credits is one of the most important and effect approach to reducing the amount of GHG emissions, where carbon credits are generated by the reduction of CO2 emissions in sponsoring projects, which increase CO2 absorption, such as renewable-energy, energy-efficiency, and reforestation projects. Although carbon credits themselves do not reduce the amount of CO2 emissions around the world, they are important incentives for GHG reduction projects. Many companies have also sold products with the amount of carbon credits equivalent to the amount of GHGs emitted due to the use or disposal of products so that the credits have been used to offset GHGs emissions. There are a variety of products on the market with carbon credits, e.g., automobiles, disposable diapers, and toys. For example, from September 2007, Lufthansa began offering its customers the opportunity of offsetting carbon emissions through voluntarily donating carbon credits to mitigate the amount of CO2 emitted due to the actual average fuel consumption per passenger. However, carbon offsetting poses several problems that result from carbon credit trading. Carbon credits are usually acquired through carbon credit trading between countries or companies, or in markets via professional traders, called carbon traders or agencies. Furthermore, existing trading schemes are performed through e-commerce, but they are too complicated for non-professional traders, individuals, or small and medium-sized enterprises, to participate in. In fact, the minimal unit of existing credit trading is usually more than one hundred or one thousand tonnes of