The European Commission is set to permit countries to use carbon credits and offsets to "outsource a portion of their climate efforts to poorer countries from 2036," said Politico. They will also count toward the Commission's 2040 climate target. But while these credits and offsets have become a significant part of many countries' plans to reduce emissions and some claim any reduction of emissions is good regardless of location, others say the system allows polluters to keep polluting.

What are carbon credits and offsets?
Carbon offsets help "mitigate emissions" and are a "voluntary act by a company," said Earth.org. And carbon credits help prevent emissions and are "regulated and distributed by governments."

Both are permits that "allow the owner to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases," said Investopedia. This can apply on an individual, national or global scale. Companies, for example, can purchase offsets to bring down their carbon footprint. In the global market, countries "unable to reduce enough greenhouse gas emissions through conventional methods would be able to purchase credits from other countries that implemented emission-reduction projects," said Earth.org.

The carbon credit market usually works through a cap-and-trade system. The government sets a cap on the maximum emissions an industry or economy can produce, then the cap is divided into allowances that can be traded. Trading "gives companies a strong incentive to save money by cutting emissions in the most cost-effective ways," said the Environmental Defense Fund. Another way to offset carbon emissions is for emitters to invest in projects that reduce emissions in poorer countries.

Are they effective?
Carbon credits and offsets have become a staple in the fight against climate change, but they have also faced scrutiny. On the one hand, they are a "way to raise funding for CO2-cutting projects in developing nations," said Reuters. They also "create a monetary incentive for companies to reduce their carbon emissions," said Investopedia.

Those opposed say that carbon credits and offsets distract from the true goal. "Achieving net zero should begin with every effort to eliminate or reduce the burning of fossil fuels, the main cause of global warming," said Science News. The existence of carbon offsets allows polluters to "continue to engage in practices that are systemically unsustainable," said Sentient Media. There's a "growing consensus among experts" that carbon offsets "in some cases may do more harm than good." 

The next time you buy an action figure or doll for your child, you may feel some extra pain at the checkout register. President Donald Trump's tariffs have begun to have a tangible effect on many foreign-made goods, and toys will be hit hard. Since a majority of toys in the U.S. come from China, one of the primary countries targeted by the tariffs, economists say the price for the next big plaything may keep increasing. 

Record-setting price hikes
The price of toys, games and playground equipment increased 2.2% in the weeks after Trump began implementing his across-the-board tariffs, said the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This represents a record price increase for toys and is significantly higher than the 0.1% total inflation rate. 

These increases "capture the period after Trump unveiled his global reciprocal tariffs in April," and experts say it's a "gloomy indication of what's to come for the toy industry," said The Independent. This is especially true given that about 75% of toys sold in the U.S. are from China, as "tariffs on Chinese imports, which at one point rocketed to 145%, are currently at 30% until mid-August."

Here to stay
Analysts say the toy industry, which "relies on a steady flow of relatively low-priced imports, offers clues into how higher costs could soon ripple through the economy," said The Washington Post. And while the Trump administration "gave the toy industry an exemption from the 25% tariffs on China during his first term, it has offered no such carve-outs this time around." 

As a result, the "assumption that families will respond to higher costs by buying fewer toys has upended holiday plans for retailers," said the Post. Many toy stores are "treading cautiously, sticking to classics such as board games and dolls, and lower-priced games and craft supplies" instead of big-ticket items. They are also "doubling down on bestsellers and not trying anything new this year, because we just don't know what's going to happen," said Amy Rutherford, the owner of Pippin Toy in Alexandria, Virginia, to the Post. Consumers are "already moving to lower-dollar items, and I think that will continue."