They plan to charge the US for the service of taking carbon out of the atmosphere. The trouble is, if the forests burn down or die from disease, the carbon is simply released back into the atmosphere. European negotiators were not totally against allowing countries to buy carbon credits, but they wanted to limit how much credit could be bought by each country. A French-led delegation agreed in principle to let the United States, Canada and Japan subtract the tons of carbon soaked up in their forests against the emissions quota, after the US negotiators agreed to a lower figure. But that agreement was vetoed by the German delegation when the EU countries discussed the accord among themselves.
Some greenhouse gases occur naturally in the atmosphere, while others result from human activities.
Naturally occurring greenhouse gases include water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Certain human activities, however, add to the levels of most of these naturally occurring gases. Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil. Methane emissions also result from the decomposition of organic wastes in municipal solid waste landfills, and the raising of livestock. Nitrous oxide is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, as well as during combustion of solid waste and fossil fuels.