So in the same way carbon offsetting is becoming a common feature of the travel booking process, he expects giving portals to appear on a range of booking systems for flights and hotels.

CNN: Giving something back

Carbon offsetting allows consumers to quell their eco-guilt even as they jet off to distant climes on holiday, and drivers of sports-utility vehicles to argue that they have atoned for the emissions produced by their gas-guzzling cars.

ECONOMIST: Carbon offsets

He insists that industry, as well as governments, must tackle the core issues, rather than trying to rid themselves of responsibility through measures like carbon offsetting - where individuals or companies balance their carbon output by financing green projects.

BBC: A hiker looks out over a mountain in Switzerland

Pairing a carbon tax with an offsetting cut in corporate taxes would make things more regressive (dark blue bars).

FORBES: Could A Carbon Tax Be The Key To Achieving Corporate Tax Reform?

Many schools have pledged to go "carbon neutral" by offsetting their greenhouse gas emissions by investing in CO2 reduction efforts elsewhere.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Google says it has been carbon neutral since 2007, offsetting its greenhouse gas emissions by signing contracts to purchase renewable energy from wind farms and the like and by buying carbon credits that help finance other green power projects.

FORBES: Google Reveals Its Carbon Footprint

He says business travelers can support the local communities they visit by offsetting flights through credible carbon offset programs.

CNN: Giving something back

The bottom line of the CBO analysis of the various rebate options of the carbon tax is that those that are best targeted toward offsetting the regressiveness of the tax are the ones most likely to create some economic distortion and have the highest administrative costs.

FORBES: Carbon Tax Getting Serious Consideration As CBO Seeks To Address Regressiveness

Since offsetting is done on a voluntary basis, unlike the mandatory carbon-trading systems that have been imposed on some industries in some countries, such doubts may put people off doing it altogether.

ECONOMIST: Carbon offsets