carbon credit

noun

a permit that gives a company, country, etc., the right to emit a specified amount of carbon compounds into the atmosphere, and may be purchased if emissions are expected to exceed a quota or sold if the quota is not reached: Companies can accumulate carbon credits by funding new forest growth.

Compare carbon offsetting.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for carbon credit

carbon credit

noun

a certificate showing that a government or company has paid to have a certain amount of carbon dioxide removed from the environment

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012