The forest carbon market

[hikerbrian]

I know some of you are pretty well versed in wood lots and forestry management. A friend recently told me she had purchased a share of a forest lot in way-northern Maine. The forest lot is 500 acres. It is an investment. As I understand it, there is some demand for forest land, which can be considered a carbon offset to industries whose emissions are regulated. In practice (again, as I understand it), if you own >10 acres of forest, your trees consume some quantity of CO2 which can be estimated, and you can sell those carbon offsets via the open market. I think CA is the only state that requires energy producers to do this and hence has a market for these carbon offsets, but the thinking is that this will spread to other states and demand will increase. I'm too much of a chicken to dive into such things, but I'm curious if anyone has heard of this? There's not a ton on the interwebs, but this site seems to substantiate my understanding. On the one hand, it would be pretty cool to be able to buy a chunk of land in northern ME for cheap and have it pay for itself and then some. On the other, something tells me there's more to forest management than writing a check. Thoughts?

 

[peakbagger]

I have not looked into it directly. I know someone who did and his understanding was it was very complex process and the revenue was minimal. His observation was if someone was buying land for conservation it would just be another revenue stream.

 

[Andrew]

Would be nice to see an additional financial benefit opportunity for those who prefer to keep their land wild.

Forests are very good at managing themselves.


Although anything would and probably should, require a professionally recognized forest management plan; similar as such currently required for additional tax discounts from the Current Use program in NH.

A long-time close friend of mine in Walpole NH has something between 150 to 200 acres that has just come out of 40 or so years with cows. This past summer he had a USDA forester tour his land with him as an initial discussion towards a management plan and possible USDA program assistance. On the back boundary where 2 local conservation organizations recently acquired holdings, the forester said he could find no evidence of cutting since the colonial clearings. Nice ledgy high ground where his land reaches high out of the valley with massive hemlocks and deep cool woods.

My friend asked, "Well what if I just want to leave it alone?" The forester replied that he should make sure he expresses that objective when seeking out a forester, as most are going to rely mainly on productivity goals as a preference. Interesting that this friend has worked with carbon assessment as an aspect of his job with an energy conservation outfit in Vermont, and has wondered and hoped for years that opportunities to participate in the carbon market, using his own life and land was something that could happen.

 

[B the Hiker]

Among people who are concerned about global warming (and I include myself in this group), carbon offsets are viewed with a skeptical eye. The idea is that a forest full of (carbon holding) trees can be (a) consumed, or; (b) preserved for the purpose of keeping the carbon there. In this regard, the idea is that an owner will forego the revenue of harvesting the forest in order to keep the carbon from being released, and in return, should obtain some revenue for it.

In theory, it's a great idea.

In practice, what often happens is that landowners who have absolutely no intention of harvesting the trees are getting offsets.

If anyone wants a really nice introduction to the idea, NHPR did a wonderful podcast on carbon offsets. I highly recommend a listen.
http://outsideinradio.org/shows/the-forest-for-the-carbon

 

[hikerbrian]

Among people who are concerned about global warming (and I include myself in this group), carbon offsets are viewed with a skeptical eye.

That was my take as well. If you want the financial opportunity and/or want an excuse to buy a big chunk of land in ME, have at it. But as a true investment in conservation, the picture is pretty murky. I have my suspicions that this is mostly about some middleman somewhere seeing an opportunity to make a buck.

I remember a decade or more ago several conservation-minded friends of mine would purchase 'offsets' for their plane trips. Maybe they still do. Usually this amounted to writing a check to a wind farm builder. If executed well and efficiently, I could at least imagine that accomplishes the goal. For the forest carbon-offsets, I'm not sure that's true.

Thanks for the link to the podcast, I'll give it a listen.