Outline• What is the Climate Trust? Christine• Who are we? Teresa and Christine• Why carbon market and not GHG market? Teresa• What is a carbon offset? Christine (and flow chart)• How did carbon offsets and carbon markets come about? Teresa• Quality offsets, general principles and how do you make an offset? Teresa• Voluntary carbon market standards V vs C Christine• Types of projects

– Forestry Christine– ACOGs Teresa– Cookstoves Christine– Fertilizer Teresa– OWD Teresa– Biochar Teresa– Others Christine

• Where to go for more information (links to share;T&C collaborate)• Examples of projects in Latin America (T&C each find a favorite)• Organizations doing projects (Christine to bug Teresa)

• Mission: To provide expertise, financing, and inspiration to accelerate innovative climate solutions that endure

• Founded in 1997 to acquire carbon offsets on behalf of new power plants regulated by the Oregon Carbon Dioxide Standard

• Developed processes in house to evaluate and compare potential projects, quantify, verify, and register offsets

• Carbon Asset Management– compliance and voluntary programs (OR, WA, MT, MA, CA, Colorado

Carbon Fund, NW Natural Smart Energy)– $15.5M in 10 project sectors, focus on agriculture, forestry, and biogas

• Climate Services• Policies & Standards

Our Specialties• Christine Yankel

Forestry Specialist

• Teresa Koper

Agricultural Specialist

Why Carbon?

http://www.epa.gov/climatestudents/basics/today/greenhouse-gases.html

What is a carbon offset?• A carbon offset is the reduction or

sequestration of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas made to compensate for or offset emissions produced elsewhere

Carbon Accounting Principles

• Baseline – business as usual scenario• Additionality – reducing GHG emissions to

below the baseline (additional to business as usual)

• Permanence – permanent reduction of emissions

• No Leakage – direct emissions elsewhere caused by the emission reduction in the project/program

Farmers plant trees.

Trees grow, absorbing CO2.

Quantifiers record baseline data and measure trees.

Tree data is used to calculate carbon stored in the trees.

3rd party auditors confirm methods and results.

Certified carbon offsets are issued and sold.

Farmers are paid an advance on carbon in their trees.

Carbon Credits: Seedling to Sale

CO2e

Farmers receive 70% of profits.

Compliance and voluntary carbon markets:

• Compliance markets: (Kyoto Protocol, EU Emissions Trading System, California Air Resources Board) governments and regulated facilities have mandatory, legal emission obligations, and can use offsets, such as CERs, as an alternative to reducing their own emissions.

• Voluntary market offset programs such as the Gold Standard (GS), the American Carbon Registry (ACR), and the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) issue offsets that can be used by businesses, governments, NGOs, and individuals electing to offset their emissions for other reasons, such as corporate or individual social responsibility.

• Additional standards, like Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Alliance, measure co-benefits of projects

FIGURE 7: TRANSACTED VOLUME BY PROJECT CATEGORY, OTC 2012 MtCO2e and % Share

Notes: Findings pertain to the 75.5 MtCO2e associated with a response to this question, including “N/A” and “Other”. Source: Forest Trends’ Ecosystem Marketplace. State of the Voluntary Carbon Markets 2013.

Carbon offset projects are diverse

FIGURE 24: MARKET SHARE BY PROJECT TYPE, OTC 2012% Share

Notes: Findings pertain to the 75.5 MtCO2e associated with a response to this question, including “N/A” and “Other”.Source: Forest Trends’ Ecosystem Marketplace. State of the Voluntary Carbon Markets 2013.

Latin America is home to many carbon offset projects

• 2012 7.2 MtCO2• Forestry most developed.

REDD and cookstove projects important.

• Seeds of growth planted in the region, with governments in Acre (Brazil), Colombia, and Chile signing agreements with VCS to establish stronger frameworks for their domestic carbon markets, and Mexico passing a law to pursue a domestic emissions trading scheme.

FIGURE 10: FLOW OF TRANSACTED VOLUMES BY OFFSET SUPPLIER AND BUYER REGION, OTC 2012MtCO2e

Notes: Based on 80 MtCO2 associated with either offset project or buyer location.Source: Forest Trends’ Ecosystem Marketplace. State of the Voluntary Carbon Markets 2013

Agriculture Sector Project Types

• Avoided Conversion of Land Use• Nutrient Management (Fertilizers)• Organic Waste Digestion• Biochar

For More Information:

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

• Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)• Verified Carbon Standard (VCS)

Data Collection

Various Forms

Phones used for data collection

Carbon offset project locations

http://www.vcsprojectdatabase.org/

Tecamac – EcoMethane Landfill Gas to Energy Project-MexicoOaxaca II Wind Energy Project-MexicoThe Chocó-Darién Conservation Corridor REDD Project, COLOMBIA

A bit of history…• The Climate Trust was founded in 1997 to acquire

carbon offsets on behalf of new power plants regulated by the Oregon Carbon Dioxide Standard

• Developed processes in house to evaluate and compare potential projects, quantify, verify, and register offsets Oregon Standard– Deschutes Riparian Reforestation– Arlecho Creek Forest Preservation– Ecuadorian Rainforest Restoration

Lessons Learned:

• By 2012, 98% of transacted forest carbon offsets certified to a project standard

• Consolidated, standardized protocols reduce risks and costs for all participants; creating these and support infrastructure for customized expensive, complex

• Standards and protocols need to be accurate, transparent, conservative, and practical

• Quality matters• Scale and support infrastructure matter

For more information:• Ecosystem Marketplace: detailed annual report on voluntary carbon markets.

2013’s is here: http://www.forest-trends.org/documents/files/doc_3898.pdf• http://www.fcmcglobal.org/documents/CF_Latin_America.pdf Community

forestry report for Latin America by USAID• Standards and methodologies:

– Verified Carbon Standard methodologies:http://www.v-c-s.org/methodologies/find– Gold Standard: http://www.goldstandard.org/– Climate Action Reserve Mexico Forest protocol: http://www.climateactionreserve.org

/how/protocols/mexico-forest/• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQxdl77TBOI (5 min video on CAR

Pronatura pilot)• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59KvzvWkaVM Happy cows help save the

planet Climate Smart Ag• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqRHHWj4I7c A primer on carbon offsets

and how they are made. By BP, but good basic information

Forest carbon offset projects

• REDD+ :Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, plus the conservation and sustainable management of forests and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks

• Tree planting (Afforestation/Reforestation)• Improved forest management (IFM)• Each type of project has different rules on eligibility,

baseline, and crediting• Each requires a long-term commitment to practice

change

Key takeaways:• Carbon projects work best when they fit overall land

management goals of communities. Community benefits need to be greater than the transaction, management and opportunity costs

• Policy environment needs to support • Carbon projects need to make business sense:

– Costs– Carbon offset volumes– Timing matters

• Identifying a buyer willing to make a contractual commitment to purchase offsets at volume and terms sufficient to cover the costs of developing and maintaining the project is critical

Many commonalities across Standards, but differences matter

• Project Start Date and timing of first and subsequent Verifications

• Included carbon pools• Length of commitment, flexibility mechanisms• Forest Certification requirements• Treatment of Aggregation