The B.C. government has released its proposed requirements for projects to gain carbon offsets that could provide new revenue in forestry and help reduce emissions.
The requirements - outlined in a 156-page protocol document - point to the need to set baseline emissions and substantiate emission reductions, including taking into account the risks to timber later succumbing to fires or pests.
Activities that could be credited for carbon offsets - which could be purchased by the Pacific Carbon Trust, a Crown corporation - include planting trees, restoring forests, harvesting and managing forests in new ways and protecting sensitive areas from development.
The province noted that these activities, however, must go beyond a business-as-usual approach. The draft protocol report notes, for example, that in order to get credit for converting land that has not had timber on it for at least 20 years, the land has to be of marginal productivity, urban land or degraded industrial land such as a mine site.
B.C. Forests Minister Pat Bell said the province recognizes forest carbon is increasingly significant to global climate action. "Because forests absorb carbon dioxide, the vastness and diversity of our forests along with our outstanding management practices put us in an enviable position," said Bell, the MLA for Prince George-Mackenzie. "It's a huge opportunity," he stressed.
In order to get credit for improvement forest, the forest land must increase carbon sequestration rates though the use of, for example, fertilizer, faster growing trees and thinning.
Earlier this year, Bell noted that if credit was given for even an incremental enhanced growth per hectare of B.C.'s 25 million hectares of forests, it could be worth as much as $750 million in carbon offsets if one tonne of carbon was valued at $28 to $30 per tonne.
The draft protocols also set criteria for the type of land and timber that is eligible for carbon offsets. The forest land area must be greater than one hectare with a minimum 20-metre width.
The draft also stipulates that trees that are planted must use genetically diverse and productive seeds. Trees planted have to reach a minimum height of five metres when mature.
The Pacific Carbon Trust, one of the largest offset buyers in B.C., anticipates that up to one third of its estimated one million tonne portfolio could come from forest carbon offsets.
"Forestry is one of B.C.'s most important natural assets, and has a significant role to play in B.C.'s growing offset market," said Pacific Carbon Trust CEO Scott MacDonald. "This protocol has been developed to reflect the province's unique forest management practices and will ensure B.C. offsets are high quality and credible," he added.
There is also an argument that carbon stored in forests should be given no credit.
The public review period of the draft offset protocols closes on Monday, Jan. 31, 2011. Final approval is expected in early 2011. To review the draft Forest Carbon Offset Protocol, visit: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/cas/mitigation/fcop.html.
