Learn more about carbon creditsThey are equivalent to the reduction of one metric ton of carbon emissions.Companies and many investors are buying credits to offset or neutralize their carbon emissions which they put into the atmosphere whether that is from day to day activities of through business emissions.Currently there are two types of carbon credits - CERs & VERsCERs represents around 86% of the global market with over 20,000 worldwide companies currently signed up and deals with compulsory emissions reductions which are enforced by the Kyoto protocol. So when a corporation is forced to reduce its carbon emissions they will buy in bulk CER credits. However it is only corporation which buy credits from the CER market that have been ordered to do so as they are compulsory credit and not for private investors.The VERs market is voluntary market for countries that did not sign up to the Kyoto protocol such as theUnited Statesand is verified by the Verified Carbon Standards (VCS). There are 50,0000 companies on the VER market, so that's 50,000 companies which are voluntarily buying VER credits because it looks good and enhances their "social responsibility" on paper.The London 2012 Olympic committee have just purchased 34,000 carbon credits for the 3 weeks the games will be running inLondon. Other companies such as Aviva the insurance company early this year purchased 104,000 to offset their carbon emissions.Private investors (myself) are seeing profits from buying carbon credits because various companies are going directly to the projects which are producing the credits and offering them to a handful of early investors at trade prices. Returns are estimated at 37% and above because that's how the market performed last year.Individuals must buy carbon credits through FSA regulated brokers.Barclays has predicted rises in carbon prices of up to 42% by 2013 with other major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan all having begun to trade this exciting new commodity.All verified carbon credit commodity units are registered on international exchanges to prevent fraud and are fully trackable throughout their life-span."The trading floor price for credits will start at £16 per tonne in 2013 and hit £30 per tonne by 2020"- George Osbourne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, March 2011 Carbon credits are part of a unique business model, where the driving forces behind investment decisions go beyond the one-sided traditional business frameworks. Unlike other commodity investments, carbon credits can bring not only financial gains, but also provide for a beneficial for the environment outcome combined with sustainable community development and biodiversity preservation.Figures show that the investment market for credits has been growing in the past three years. By the end of 2009 alone, the carbon credits exchange reached $8.7 billion in value while the value of the international carbon markets was estimated at $103 billion. The overall value of the carbon market in 2010 was estimated at $124 billion. Barclays Capital goes as far as to predict that carbon will be the world's biggest commodity market.[http://www.carboncreditsworldwide.co.uk]