Scott Settelmyer, President of TerraCarbon, LLC  speaks at the symposium (Photo: Kevin Bigsby)

Another great even in the RTP area.  Last Friday, a group of Nicholas school students carpooled up to NC State University to attend a symposium entitled "Carbon Offsets: Growing Trees in a growing market."  It was  a one-day symposium hosted at NCSU by the International Society of Tropical Foresters.   There were a list of speakers that talked about the carbon market and offsets from the perspective of policy, science and business.  Brian Murray, representing the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, and Christopher Galik, representing Duke's Climate Change Policy Partnership, spoke about why carbon offsets exist, the role of forests as carbon offsets, and the implications of upcoming policy on carbon emissions trading.  Two private businesses TerraCarbon and Environmental Synergy Inc. and two non-profits The Conservation Fund and Carbonfund.org discussed their involvement in the forest offset market. 

For me, it was a great introduction to the carbon market and what impact U.S. policy will have on climate change and forest management. 

1) 15-20% of annual global carbon sequestration comes from forests, making forests a valuable source of carbon offsets.

2) Forest offsets can be categorized in three areas: 1) Afforestation/Reforestation: planting trees in non-forested areas in order to sequester more carbon, 2) Avoided Deforestation: not cutting down already forested areas and 3) Improved Forest Management: managing forests to optimize carbon storage.  Afforestation is the most widely accepted forest offset as it is easier to prove additionality. 

3) There are many levels where carbon trading systems are being employed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: international (Kyoto Protocol), national (European Union - Emission Trading Scheme), sub-national (Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in the Northeast US and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory in California), voluntary-compliance (Chicago Climate Exchange) and voluntary noncompliance (Voluntary Carbon Standard). 

4) The price of a metric ton of C02 has tripled from $2 to $6 in the Chicago Climate Exchange since November 2007 in the US.  In Europe, the price is 25 Euros per ton or ~ $40.