Southern forests, carbon, and certification

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• Southern forests, carbon, and certification
• Craig Hanson
• Deputy Director
• People Ecosystems Program
• Presentation to the Southern Forest Roundtable
• October 2008

World Resources Institute
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World Resources Institute (WRI)
Non-profit environmental think tank that goes
beyond research to find practical ways to protect
the Earth and improve peoples lives
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U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and sinks, 2006
Million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent
7054
884
Residential other
5
6170
Commercial
6
Agriculture
8
Industry
19
Transportation
28
Electric power industry
34
Total gross emissions
Forest sinks
Net emissions
Includes all six major greenhouse gases (CO2,
N2O, HFCs, PFCs, SF6, and CH4). Equivalent
means the gases are converted into a comparable
unit. Source U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). 2008. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse
Gas Emissions and Sinks 1990 2006.
Washington, DC.
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Important criteria for forest-based carbon offsets
Real (quantifiable, leakage)
Additional
Verifiable
Permanent
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Three features of strategy
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Questions
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Over the counter carbon offset market (2007)
258 million
Source Ecosystem Marketplace and New Carbon
Finance, 2008