Tag Archives: alternative
Out Of Thin Air: Farmers’ Chance To Cash In On Carbon Trading
By Graeme O’Neill July 17, 2013, 3:30 a.m. MONEY FROM THIN AIR: Ben Keogh says his company has had “more demand than we can handle” from big polluters seeking to invest in on-farm schemes to capture carbon and reduce greenhouse emissions. THERE is money to be made from thin air if farmers in the northern Victorian Mallee are ready to become players in the growing international market for carbon credits, carbon-farming consultant Ben Keogh believes. Mr Keogh, managing director of Castlemaine-based carbon-farming consultancy Australian Carbon Traders, said his company already had “more demand than we can handle” from big polluters seeking to invest in on-farm schemes to capture carbon and reduce greenhouse emissions. Mr Keogh said Australia was moving towards an emissions trading scheme (ETS), which would require local polluters to spend 50 per cent of their investment in carbon credits within Australia – no more than 50 per cent can be invested overseas. “The details of the ETS are still not clear, but we always knew that Australia would join the world in floating the price of carbon credits,” he said. But he warned that if Australian farmers were not ready and well organised to secure funding for on-farm schemes to cut emissions, they will miss out, and the investment would go to farmers in China, India or Brazil. “Two strategies we have identified for reducing on-farm emissions in the Victorian Mallee are the use of coated fertilises, to reduce nitrous oxide emissions, and planting mallees to sequester carbon in the soil. “Mallees will grow in marginal soils, so they don’t compete for good cropping country, and they deliver environmental benefits. “They can be planted to intercept drainage, which reduces salinity, and mallee shelter belts will reduce windspeeds and evaporation rates over paddocks, provide shelter for livestock, as well as reducing windspeed and soil erosion. For more of this story, purchase your copy of Wednesday’s Sunraysia Daily 17/07/2013. Continue reading
UK Woodland Carbon Code launched on Markit Registry
18 JULY 2013NEWS RELEASE No: 16000 UK Woodland Carbon Code launched on Markit Registry The United Kingdom’s Woodland Carbon Code (WCC) has been launched on the Markit Environmental Registry, enhancing transparency and accountability in the trade in British Woodland Carbon Units. Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) sequestered, or absorbed, by WCC-validated woodlands in the UK can be traded, and the development enables changes of ownership of each tonne to be tracked. The registry will also record when projects are registered and credits are listed, and when carbon units have been “used” by a company in its carbon account. Forestry Minister David Heath, who spoke at the launch event in London, said, “The Woodland Carbon Code provides an authoritative means of assurance to those who wish to invest in new woodland planting to compensate for some of their unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions. By investing in new woodlands validated as meeting the code’s standards, they receive assurance that their investment will be wisely spent on well managed, sustainable woodlands which really will deliver the carbon benefits claimed.” Units of carbon sequestered by Code-validated woodlands are accurately measured and recorded by a robust carbon-accounting system, and Mr Heath added, “The Code’s launch on the Markit Environmental Registry takes that process an important step further by allowing anyone to see who owns individual units of carbon. It also tracks changes in ownership and, importantly, use of carbon units. “It also adds assurance to carbon buyers by tracking forwards sales of carbon units in long-term woodland carbon projects. This brings welcome clarity, transparency and accountability to the developing woodland carbon market in the UK. “By enhancing the attractiveness of private investment in woodland establishment, this initiative has the potential to make a valuable contribution to our priority goals of growing the rural economy and improving the environment for everyone.” Kathy Benini, managing director of the Markit Environmental Registry, said: “It is an honour to work with the Forestry Commission and provide the infrastructure for this important initiative. “Our registry is a centrepiece of environmental programmes worldwide, and we look forward to providing the tools needed to create a transparent and efficient market for credits in the innovative Woodland Carbon Code programme.” The Markit Environmental Registry also provides an introductory mechanism for bringing together buyers and sellers of woodland carbon units, although it is not a trading platform. The WCC is administered by the Forestry Commission, and further information is available from www.forestry.gov.uk/carboncode . The Markit Environmental Registry provides infrastructure to the global carbon, water and biodiversity markets, enabling participants to track environmental projects, and issue, transact and retire serialised environmental credits. It lists 150 million environmental credits across 20 market-based standards and programmes for users in nearly 80 countries. Further information is available from www.markit.com . NOTES TO EDITOR: CO 2 is the most common of the greenhouse gases causing the atmospheric warming which is changing Earth’s climate. Growing trees sequester, or absorb, CO 2 from the atmosphere, and use carbon atoms to form wood while emitting oxygen back to the atmosphere. From April 2013, UK-quoted companies have been required to report their gross CO 2 emissions. Under the Government’s Environmental Reporting Guidelines (including greenhouse gas emissions), all companies have an opportunity to report verified carbon units created through carbon sequestration in WCC-verified woodland creation projects. (Validated projects must be ‘verified’ after five years, and then at least every 10 years to check that sequestration targets are being met.) Companies can invest directly in woodland establishment projects on their own land, or by buying the rights to the carbon sequestered in woodlands established by others. They can buy units before they are created and verified, but they cannot report them until after they have been verified. Traders of woodland carbon must be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority. A total of 133 projects were registered (notified intention to seek validation) under the code at 30 June 2013, covering an area of 14,200 hectares and projected to sequester 5.2 million tonnes of CO 2 . Of these, 42 had been validated, covering 2100 hectares and projected to sequester 1.0 million tonnes of CO 2 , comprising 256,000 tonnes in England, 662,000 tonnes in Scotland and 33,000 tonnes in Wales. No projects have yet been validated in Northern Ireland. When companies ‘use’ verified units of CO 2 , for example, in an annual environmental report or in claims of carbon neutrality, this is demonstrated in the registry by moving units to their ‘retired’ (or used) account. Projects can only be validated under the Code if they meet its rigorous requirements for sound forest management, sustainability and carbon ‘accounting’. Project proposals are audited by independent certification companies approved by the UK Accreditation Service. Once registered, a proposal is audited against the standards required by the Code, and if it satisfies the requirements it is ‘validated’. Validation provides evidence of the quality of the proposal, not only in carbon terms, but also in sustainable forest management terms, and is critical for attracting investors. Woodland established under the Code must attain high standards of forest management in line with the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) and its associated Climate Change Guidelines for Forestry. The UKFS sets out the government vision of sustainable forest management, and is the ‘yardstick’ used by all four governments in the UK when assessing applications for forestry grants, tree felling licences and approvals of forest design plans. About 13 per cent of the UK’s land area is covered by woodland, which is more than double the woodland cover of 100 years ago. MEDIA CONTACT: Charlton Clark, 0131 314 6500 e-mail: charlton.clark@forestry.gsi.gov.uk Continue reading
California Again Leads The Way, This Time With Forest Carbon Offsets
FORBES ENTREPRENEURS | 7/22/2013 Editor’s Note: David Rothschild (left) serves as a Principal of the Portfolio Team at the Skoll Foundation and manages a variety of key relationships with funded social entrepreneurs, domain experts, policy makers, corporate partners and co-funders. Karin Burns (right) serves as Executive Director of Code REDD and advocates for corporate leaders to address climate change by catalyzing the market for REDD verified emissions reductions through both voluntary and compliance carbon markets. Often misunderstood, REDD+ forest carbon offsets are a “must have” for any realistic climate-change mitigation strategy Californians are known as innovation leaders, and once again, we are on the verge of demonstrating critical leadership. Only this time it isn’t about the Internet, social networking, reality television, venture capital or electric cars. It is about stopping tropical deforestation and supporting local communities. ‘ What!? ’ you say? How is the great state of California, home of bankrupt and massive, thirsty desert cities and Silicon Valley, a place that elected such juggernauts of history as Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, about to lead in avoiding tropical deforestation? Thanks to the people of California, and Arnold, in 2006 we passed the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32). As a result, this January the state launched its own cap-and-trade carbon market , demonstrating global leadership on climate change as well as opening doors to further innovation in green technologies and job creation. California now has an opportunity to again be an early adopter, offering polluting companies the chance to offset a small percentage of their carbon emissions by supporting reductions in tropical deforestation through a mechanism called jurisdictional REDD+ – Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation. Since deforestation accounts for some 15% of global carbon emissions, reducing deforestation plays an essential role in addressing climate change. Trees perform vital functions for our climate such as absorbing and storing carbon. But they are currently not valued for these services – and it is this shortcoming that REDD+ forest carbon offsets aim to address. Entities regulated under AB32 would be able to contribute to this solution by reducing a small portion of their emissions by purchasing forest carbon offsets as part of their strategies to reduce their carbon emissions. Companies and other institutions can contribute to this effort by signing Code REDD’s Letter of Support for inclusion of REDD+ in CA’s climate policy . Carbon offsets are often misunderstood. Some claim they amount to “permits to pollute,” but this is not accurate. Offsets are necessary to achieving emission reduction goals as we transition to a low-carbon economy since they are one of the only ways to address unavoidable emissions. They are part of, and do not replace, companies’ emissions reductions efforts. To be clear, we aren’t talking a huge amount. If approved, California polluters would be allowed to offset just 2% to 4% of their compliance obligations with REDD+ offsets (only 8% can be offset in total). This means that 92% of a regulated entity’s carbon emissions must still be addressed at source. Yet this 2% to 4% would play a hugely important role—demonstrating to the world that REDD+ is a viable climate solution, and empowering local communities, protecting wildlife and slowing deforestation. And since the planet does not differentiate between CO 2 molecules – no matter where they originate – reducing carbon emission from tropical deforestation is still reducing carbon emissions – even here in California. Furthermore, California’s leadership in REDD+ is already catalyzing innovation, growth in California’s green jobs, technology development, and public-private partnerships – right here in California. It is not enough anymore for businesses to simply change light bulbs and make their buildings more energy efficient. We need corporate leaders to understand that sustainability and addressing climate change means taking that extra step needed to meet our 2020 emissions goals. It is time for more companies to recognize and adopt offset policies as an integral part of carbon emission reduction plans. REDD+ allows responsible companies to go beyond the reductions achievable in their direct operations and offset their unavoidable emissions by reducing deforestation. In addition to jurisdictional REDD offsets under AB32, through the voluntary market companies and philanthropists today can directly support high-quality, high impact REDD+ project s. REDD+ projects “done right” are transforming the economic incentives that lead to deforestation, protecting endangered wildlife and improving the lives of local communities. These projects demonstrate that REDD+ can bring greater value to forests while supporting the rights of forest peoples. To help stop climate change, we must greatly reduce tropical deforestation. And there has been significant progress . But to succeed, we need to find ways to bring greater value to living forests. REDD+ forest carbon offsets are one step in the right direction. Let’s voice our support and help the great state of California make an important and vital contribution. Continue reading
