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November 12 - forest carbon 1, Tutorial 4
November 14 – carbon (cont)
 Brief due
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November 18 (Monday) – EBM simulation
November 19 (Lecture) – comparative
November 19 (evening) – area-based simulation
November 21 – conclusion 1
November 26 – conclusion 2
November 28 – NO CLASS
December 12 – 3:30-5:30 final exam
November 12, 2013
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November 12, 2013
3
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legitimate reductions in GHGs that should, if
properly regulated, play an meaningful role in
climate policy
or
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Sketchy subsidies that provide dubious
contributions to reducing GHGs, and should
not be including in sincere climate policies
November 12, 2013
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Emerging values
Forest Carbon 100
How forests can contribute to GHG mitigation
BC Climate policy
 General
 Forest carbon
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Policy Design Issues
Promoting Wood
Bioenergy (briefly)
conclusion
November 12, 2013
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Ownership
Rules for what counts
Scope
 Including wood products
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Quantification
Permanence
Leakage
Monitoring
Additionality
November 14, 2013
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The project has to start after November 29, 2007
The project cannot be required by law or
regulation.
 It must be demonstrated that the project faces
financial, technological or other obstacles which
are overcome, or partially overcome, by the
incentive of being recognized as an emission
offset
 The financial implications of the baseline
scenario need to be considered
 Must be validated and by accredited 3rd party
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November 14, 2013
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http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/cas/mitigation/pdfs/FCOP_final-dec7-overview.pdf
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Afforestation
Reforestation
Improved forest management – examples:
 Conservation areas
 Increasing rotation age
 Increasing forest cover constraints (reduce
harvest)
 Increase proportion of harvested wood products
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Conservation/avoided deforestation
November 14, 2013
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sequestration and storage of carbon in
above- and below-ground parts of trees
beyond what would occur under the baseline
scenario
No baseline established; project proponent
proposes one for PCT approval
November 14, 2013
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Carbon stored
November 14, 2013
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http://www.dehst.de/SharedDocs/Bilder/EN/charts/chart_JICDM_Baseline.png?__blob=normal&v=3
November 14, 2013
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Where a project changes the level of goods or
services provide, causing a subsequent change
to supply outside the area
 2 types
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 Land use shifting
 Harvest shifting
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2 sources
 Internal leakage (lands controlled by project owner)
 External leakage – the broader market (not
necessarily in same jurisdiction)
November 14, 2013
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55,000 ha private
forest land in
Kooteneys
 PCT description
 Bought by Nature
Conservancy Canada
 NCC sold 450,ooo
tonnes of credits to
PCT
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November 14, 2013
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“NCC carries out the stewardship of
Darkwoods, resulting carbon being
sequestered over time in addition to what
would have happened in the absence of
NCC’s conservation efforts. Had NCC not
purchased the property, it likely would have
been developed or logged at an intensive,
“liquidation harvest,” level.”
November 14, 2013
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Baseline assumed to be harvesting 300,000
m3/yr
NCC said it would log 10,000 per year, carbon
in the remaining timber is the offset
Actual harvesting rate 2001-07: 57,000
What appropriate baseline is uncertain
November 14, 2013
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November 14, 2013
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November 14, 2013
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Concern that carbon accounting outfits
helping develop projects and those verifying
project have a conflict of interest
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Government not being sufficient diligent in
scrutinizing justification for project
November 14, 2013
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Attacks of incompetence from offseters
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Members of OAG audit team fired (uncertain
whether related to case)
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Commitment by government to review PCT
November 14, 2013
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Big GBR carbon offset projects
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May be used to offset LNG expansion
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Challenges to additionality
November 14, 2013
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Emerging values
Forest Carbon 100
How forests can contribute to GHG mitigation
BC Climate policy
 General
 Forest carbon
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Policy Design Issues
Promoting Wood
bioenergy
conclusion
November 14, 2013
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Wood First Act (Bill 9 –
2009)
 Sector wide initiative:
Promote use of wood
 Framing: “wood is
good”
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November 14, 2013
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Through class participation
November 14, 2013
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Emerging values
Forest Carbon 100
How forests can contribute to GHG mitigation
BC Climate policy
 General
 Forest carbon
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Policy Design Issues
Promoting Wood
Bioenergy
conclusion
November 14, 2013
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“convert wood waste and trees that have
been killed by the mountain pine beetle into
clean, renewable energy, create new
opportunities for rural communities, spur
new investment and innovation, and help
B.C. become energy self-sufficient.”
November 14, 2013
FRST 415
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Viability depends on relative
value of competing uses of
forest stands
 Depends on
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 Energy density
 Available technology (gathering
and processing)
 Regulatory framework
 Relative prices of energy and
competing forest products
Sustainable Energy Policy
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Mill residues
Residues left in forest
Standing timber (including plantation)
November 14, 2013
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From a greenhouse gas perspective, it makes
more sense to use forests to make long-lived
wood products
 Ben Parfitt – Managing BC’s Forests for a Cooler
Planet
Sustainable Energy Policy
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BC’s forests can potentially contribute to
greenhouse gas reductions, but immense
complexity and uncertainty make effective and
efficient policy design very difficult
BC’s vast forest resource is a potentially significant
source of energy, but the low energy density and
costs of concentrating the resource where it can
be processed means that for the foreseeable
future it is likely to be a significant, economical
source of energy only as a residual product of
the forest sector.
Sustainable Energy Policy
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Apparent opportunities, immense
challenges
course tools applicable
Emergent forest carbon policy
Limited bioenergy policy
 Economics questionable
November 14, 2013
FRST 415
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Coming paradigm shift, or struggling industry
grasping for faint hope?
Depends in part on definition of rules
What makes sense in terms of science?
Beware of underlying interests
November 14, 2013
FRST 415
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