Tribes trade carbon credits

Tribes participate in carbon trading marketTribes are entering the carbon trading market in the hopes of making money off of their environmental friendly practices.

The Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho is participating in a carbon trading program developed by the National Carbon Offset Coalition. The tribe is turning farmland on the reservation into forest in order to sell its carbon credits to energy companies.

The Confederated Colville Tribes of Washington, the Lummi Nation of Washington and the Confederate Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Montana have sold some of their carbon credits. The results have been mixed but Bob Gruenig, a senior policy analyst for the National Tribal Environmental Council, says tribes have a larger goal in mind: climate change.