Using forest carbon credits to offset emissions in the downstream business

In the refining sector, there is currently limited scope for using forest carbon credits to offset emissions. A potentially more promising option is to develop a "carbon neutral" gasoline and/or diesel for sale at retail stations using voluntary carbon credits. The sector would need to show that this fuel is made using Best Available Technology. Residual emissions could be offset with forest carbon credits. The price of offsetting these carbon emissions is almost the same for gasoline and diesel, and can be estimated to range from 1.5 eurocent/L to 3 eurocent/L (for a carbon price of 10 euro/ton CO2. Currently, the amount of carbon credits available on the voluntary market would suffice to offset CO2 emissions of around 7 billion L of fuel, increasing to around 16 billion L in 2020 if a willingness to buy is communicated to forest carbon project developers.