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Carbon Credits & Forest/Farmland Sequestration Affiliate Telebriefing

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

(National Wildlife Federation)

Carbon Credits & Forest/Farmland Sequestration Document Library - you must have Adobe Acrobat/Reader 8 or 9 to download PDF documents.

Audio Recording (1 hour)

Agenda

Sample Delegation letter

Opportunities for Agriculture to Offset Climate Change

Forest-Climate Working Group:  Policy Platform

Global Warming & Forests Fact Sheet

The Role of Offsets in Cap and Invest Legislation


Contact Information

Julie Sibbing
Director - Global Warming, Agriculture and Wildlife
Department: Conservation Programs
Email: sibbing@nwf.org
Office: 202-797-6832

Eric Palola
Sr. Director, Forest for Wildlife
Department: Conservation Programs
Email: palola@nwf.org
Office: 802-552-4326

Timothy Warman
Executive Director, Global Warming Solutions Program
Department:  Global Warming
Email: warmant@nwf.org
Office: 202-797-6623


NWF Staff Eric Palola and Julie Sibbing conducted a telebriefing on Carbon Credits and Forest/Farmland Sequestration on April 7, 2009.

Participants learned about opportunities for the forestry and agricultural sectors to market their land-based greenhouse gas reduction efforts upon passage of a cap and invest bill. 

Participants learned about some of the activities that might be eligible, NWF's policy on offsets and the many positive co-benefits these activities will have for wildlife, habitats and the environment.


What is an Offset?
Offsets are so named because they counteract or “offset” global warming pollution by industries required to reduce their global warming pollution. Offsets are generated by entities that are not subject to the law’s cap, but who reduce their global warming pollution or store carbon in soils and vegetation through a process called carbon sequestration that reduces carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Entities eligible to generate offsets, include small industrial emitters, mines and landfills that release methane, farmers and forest owners. Offsets will provide an important new economic opportunity to these sectors, as well as help moderate the cost of complying with the law for those subject to the cap by providing an alternate source of pollution reduction credits. The integrity of an emissions cap is maintained by ensuring that for each offset credit issued, global warming pollution reductions occur beyond the amount dictated by the original cap and beyond what would have happened under a “business as usual” approach.  Examples of offsets include capturing methane from animal manures, landfills or mines, storing carbon in soils and vegetation through forest and grassland restoration, conversion to no-till farming and planting winter cover crops on croplands.

Co-benefits for Conservation
Activities such as forest management to increase carbon storage and installation of methane digesters at livestock facilities will provide excellent economic returns to landowners with potential co-benefits to the environment. Restoration of forests and grasslands on marginal or highly erodible land, while storing significant amounts of carbon that can be sold as offsets, would also expand habitat for wildlife, as well as improve water quality and quantity.  Conversion to no-till agriculture, combined with planting of winter cover crops, greatly helps rebuild carbon in soils, resulting in better water retention, reduced soil erosion and reduced need for chemical fertilizers. Planting trees along riparian areas both sequesters carbon and provides filtration for water running off farmland before it enters creeks and streams.